UK faces calls for ‘Plan B’ with virus cases high and rising

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Many scientists are pressing the British government to re-impose social restrictions and speed up booster vaccinations as coronavirus infection rates that are Europe’s highest rise still further. The U.K. recorded 49,156 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. That was the largest number since mid-July. New infections averaged 43,000 a day over the past week in a 15% increase comparted to the week before. Last week the Office for National Statistics estimated that 1 in 60 people in England had the virus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government lifted all the legal restrictions on business and social life in July. Many scientists are urging the government to reconsider and to speed up a vaccination booster program.