Doctors urge delay in next lockdown easing in England

Britain’s main doctors’ union has joined calls for the next planned lockdown easing in England to be delayed as figures showed new coronavirus cases across the U.K. running at their highest level since late February

LONDON -- Britain's main doctors' union has joined calls for the next planned lockdown easing in England to be delayed as figures Friday showed new coronavirus cases across the U.K. running at their highest level since late February. The rise in new infections comes as a result of the spread of the delta variant first identified in India. Government figures showed that another 8,125 new cases were recorded on Friday. That's the highest figure since Feb. 26 and means that the 7-day average, which smooths out daily fluctuations, has increased threefold over the past month. The delta variant, which is considered to be around 40% more transmissible than the previous dominant strain, now accounts for more than 90% of all new infections in the U.K. and is behind the recent sharp spike in cases.