and that the government was "open" to a delay if needed. but he told the bbc that the number of people needing hospital treatment was "broadly flat", which means vaccines are working. 0ur political correspondent helen catt reports. it's been nearly three weeks that people in england have been able to socialise more freely. it's not yet been decided if the remaining businesses can reopen in a fortnight�*s time, and the legal limits on how many people can meet up lifted. cases of coronavirus have risen, and the health secretary this morning confirmed that the delta variant, which first originated in india, is significantly more transmissible than the previously dominant kent or alpha variant. the best estimate of the growth advantage, as we call it, of the delta variant from sage is around a0%. 40%? so that does make life more challenging for everybody, and you have seen the case rates have risen a little. but the good news is that hospitalisations, the number