LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will judge this week how fast England can exit COVID-19 lockdown after vaccinating 15 million of its most vulnerable people, but the health minister said death and hospital admission numbers were still too high.
With nearly a quarter of the United Kingdom’s population now inoculated with a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in a little over two months, Johnson is under pressure from some lawmakers and businesses to reopen the shuttered economy.
“We’ve got to watch the data,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News. “Everybody wants to get out of this as quickly as we safely can, and both as quickly, but also as safely, are important.”
“The question is a judgment of how quickly and safely, how quickly we can do that safely. That’s the judgment that we’re making this week, looking at the data, ahead of the prime minister setting out the roadmap, on the 22nd,” he said.
The biggest and swiftest global vaccine rollout in history is seen as the best chance of exiting the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed 2.4 million people, tipped the global economy into its worst peacetime slump since the Great Depression and upended normal life for billions.
Britain has vaccinated 15.062 million people with a first dose and 537,715 with a second dose, the fastest rollout per capita of any large country.
Hancock said the British government was speaking to other countries across the world about giving British people certificates showing they had been vaccinated so that they could travel abroad in the future to countries that require them.
“There is this international work going on because if other countries require (proof of vaccination) we want to allow Brits to be able to travel to those countries,” Hancock said.
“We’d want to be able to facilitate that sort of vaccine certification, but it isn’t anything we’re planning to introduce here,” he said, adding that a so-called vaccine passport was not something that would be required to access services in the UK.
The United Kingdom has the world’s fifth-worst official death toll — currently 117,166 — after the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India.
A new COVID-19 hotel quarantine system for arrivals from 33 “red list” countries, intended to limit the spread of new variants of the virus, appears to be working smoothly a few hours after it was introduced, Hancock said.
“As of 6.30, when I got my latest update, this is working smoothly, we’ve been working with the airports and with the border force to make sure everybody knows the process,” Hancock told Times Radio.
![]()
Boris Johnson mulls coronavirus lockdown exit for Britain after 15 million people vaccinated
Short Url
https://arab.news/g2cq5
Boris Johnson mulls coronavirus lockdown exit for Britain after 15 million people vaccinated
- Nearly a quarter of the UK’s population now inoculated with a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- British leader under pressure from some lawmakers and businesses to reopen the shuttered economy
Taiwan says reached ‘general consensus’ with US on trade deal
- Taiwan has reached a “general consensus” with the United Sates on a trade deal, the democratic island’s negotiators said Tuesday, after months of talks
TAIPEI: Taiwan has reached a “general consensus” with the United Sates on a trade deal, the democratic island’s negotiators said Tuesday, after months of talks.
Taiwan and the United States began negotiations in April to hash out a trade deal after US President Donald Trump slapped a 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese exports, which was later lowered to 20 percent, as part of his sweep of measures against dozens of trade partners.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has pledged to boost investment in the United States and increase defense spending as his government tries to further reduce the levy on its shipments, as well as avoid a toll on its semiconductor chip exports.
“The goal of the US-Taiwan tariff negotiations has always been to seek reciprocal tariff reductions without stacking tariffs, and to obtain preferential treatment under Section 232 for semiconductors, semiconductor derivatives, and other items,” the Office of Trade Negotiations said in a statement, adding there was a “general consensus” on these issues.
Section 232 refers to part of the US Trade Expansion Act that allows tariffs to be imposed when national security is found to be at risk.
“Both sides are currently discussing the schedule for a concluding meeting, and an announcement will be made once it is confirmed,” the statement said.
Taiwan’s trade officials also vowed to provide “a complete explanation of the negotiations and the agreement” to the opposition-controlled parliament and the public.
American soil
Taiwan is a powerhouse in the manufacturing of semiconductor chips, which are the lifeblood of the global economy, as well as other electronics.
Trump has previously accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry and his administration had made clear it wants more of the critical technology made on American soil.
The US government launched investigations under Section 232 into semiconductors and chip-making equipment last year.
Taiwan’s trade surplus with the United States was the seventh highest of any country in 2024, reaching $73.9 billion.
More than half of its exports to the United States are information and communications technology products, including semiconductors.
Lai has been at pains to find favor with Trump, vowing to raise defense spending to more than three percent of GDP this year and five percent by 2030.
TSMC, which is the world’s largest contract chip maker, also has pledged to invest an additional $100 billion in the United States.
But Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Chih-chung Wu told AFP recently that Taiwan planned to keep making the “most advanced” chips on home soil.
Taiwan and the United States began negotiations in April to hash out a trade deal after US President Donald Trump slapped a 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese exports, which was later lowered to 20 percent, as part of his sweep of measures against dozens of trade partners.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has pledged to boost investment in the United States and increase defense spending as his government tries to further reduce the levy on its shipments, as well as avoid a toll on its semiconductor chip exports.
“The goal of the US-Taiwan tariff negotiations has always been to seek reciprocal tariff reductions without stacking tariffs, and to obtain preferential treatment under Section 232 for semiconductors, semiconductor derivatives, and other items,” the Office of Trade Negotiations said in a statement, adding there was a “general consensus” on these issues.
Section 232 refers to part of the US Trade Expansion Act that allows tariffs to be imposed when national security is found to be at risk.
“Both sides are currently discussing the schedule for a concluding meeting, and an announcement will be made once it is confirmed,” the statement said.
Taiwan’s trade officials also vowed to provide “a complete explanation of the negotiations and the agreement” to the opposition-controlled parliament and the public.
American soil
Taiwan is a powerhouse in the manufacturing of semiconductor chips, which are the lifeblood of the global economy, as well as other electronics.
Trump has previously accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry and his administration had made clear it wants more of the critical technology made on American soil.
The US government launched investigations under Section 232 into semiconductors and chip-making equipment last year.
Taiwan’s trade surplus with the United States was the seventh highest of any country in 2024, reaching $73.9 billion.
More than half of its exports to the United States are information and communications technology products, including semiconductors.
Lai has been at pains to find favor with Trump, vowing to raise defense spending to more than three percent of GDP this year and five percent by 2030.
TSMC, which is the world’s largest contract chip maker, also has pledged to invest an additional $100 billion in the United States.
But Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Chih-chung Wu told AFP recently that Taiwan planned to keep making the “most advanced” chips on home soil.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.