London. Despite the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, Great Britain will allow thousands of spectators at several major sporting events in the coming weeks.

For example, around 40,000 spectators could attend the final of the European Football Championship at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 11, as Culture and Sports Minister Oliver Dowden announced on Monday, according to the PA news agency.

The final Wimbledon matches may also take place on 10 and 11 July in front of 15,000 spectators on Center Court. The previous games of the tournament, as per reports, will still take place at half the capacity of the spectators. The major events are part of a series of tests by the UK government to gather knowledge about the safety of major events in times of pandemic.

As for many other regions in England, coronavirus measures have been extended for several weeks until 19 July due to the spread of the delta variant, which was initially discovered in India. The variant has seen the number of re-infections skyrocket in recent weeks, with the country’s seven-day incidence currently down from just 67.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210614-99-993132/2