England were packing their bags, bartenders were polishing their glasses and performers were warming up as Britain prepared Sunday for a major step out of lockdown — but with clouds of worry on the horizon.Excitement at the reopening of travel and hospitality vied with anxiety that a more contagious virus variant first detected in India is spreading fast and could delay further plans to reopen.Cases of the variant have more than doubled in a week in the U.K., defying a sharp nationwide downward trend in infections and deaths won by hard-earned months of restrictions and a rapid vaccination campaign.
A surge testing and stepped-up vaccination effort was being conducted in the northern England areas hardest hit by that variant.