71% of people want Covid restrictions to remain after June 21 - survey
The majority of respondents in a survey said Covid restrictions should remain past June 21 - Credit: Archant
More than two-thirds of Suffolk and north Essex people polled in a survey believe Covid restrictions should remain after 'Freedom Day' next Monday.
When outlining the route of the lockdown in February, prime minister Boris Johnson said the earliest date to remove all restrictions would be on June 21.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed the roadmap out of restrictions in February - Credit: Ben Stansall/PA
But the decision to lift all measures is set to be put back for four weeks as more people test positive for the highly-transmissible Delta variant of the virus, which was first identified in India.
According to a survey by the EADT and Ipswich Star, the overwhelming majority of Suffolk people back the government's move to keep restrictions in place until next month.
Of the 1,109 respondents in the survey, 71% of people said they did not want all Covid restrictions to be lifted next Monday.
In addition, 81.2% of participants said they would be happy with some restrictions remaining in place after Freedom Day.
When asked what measures they would want to keep, 73.5% said masks, 67.1% wanted social distancing to stay and 68% opted for the 'traffic light' system for international travel.
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However, only 40.3% of respondents wanted the 'rule of six' on social gatherings to be kept.
A total of 70.2% of people said they did not feel safe to return to pre-Covid life after Freedom Day, while 83.9% stated they would stick to the rules if they were kept in place after then.
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The one-month delay to lifting restrictions was favoured by 43.4% of people polled, but 24.1% said it should be longer.
When quizzed on mass gatherings, 59.3% of those surveyed said they would feel uncomfortable attending an event of more than 30 people.
Respondents to the survey were also invited to leave their thoughts on the lifting of restrictions.
One said: "The people of Suffolk have done so well in fighting this - why ruin it? Don't forget were dealing with figures a few weeks behind."
Another added: "The objective of the lockdown and restrictions has been achieved for some while now.
"I do not see how, with the vaccination programme working so well, those objectives will be threatened by the new variant."
