UK PM Johnson: Coronavirus lockdown easing delayed by a month to July 19

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that they will be delaying the coronavirus lockdown easing by a month to July 19 amid rising cases of the more infectious Delta variant, as reported by Reuters.

Additional takeaways

"At a certain stage, we will have to learn to live with the virus."

"The delay is designed to reduce the current surge in infections."

"By July 19, we do think we will have built up a considerable wall of immunity."

"On that basis, we should be able to go forward with the full opening."

"I think we will be able to deliver step for on July 19."

Market reaction

These comments don't seem to be having a noticeable impact on the British pound's performance against its rivals. As of writing, the GBP/USD pair was virtually unchanged on the day at 1.4110.