Concern and expectation in England for “freedom day”: this Monday all restrictions due to COVID-19 are lifted

No more mandatory indoor masks and no longer being able to cuddle friends. England lifts restrictions against covid-19 on Monday, but faced with the surge in infections by the Delta variant, its “freedom day” (Freedom Day) is marked by calls for caution.

“We believe now is the time to proceed, as we have the “natural firewall” of summer, with schools closed and people gathering outside., explained Prime Minister Boris Johnson, confirming the end of most legal impositions by the pandemic.

One of the European countries most affected by the coronavirus, with 128,500 deaths, the United Kingdom has seen its economy hit hard by successive blockages, with a fall of nearly 10% of GDP in 2020. And the state spent over £ 400,000 million. ($ 554 billion) to cushion the blow, at the cost of a record public deficit.

Faced with increasing pressure from part of your Conservative Party, the government decided to reopen completely based on the success of its vaccination campaign: two-thirds of the 55 million adults have already received two doses and the vaccines have been shown to be effective against most hospitalizations and deaths.

So, in the last stage of a long and slow lack of refinement that began in March, the slogan of teleworking will be lifted, nightlife venues will be able to reopen and theaters and stadiums will receive their full capacity.

Too masks in closed places will no longer be compulsory and social distancing, decisions criticized by leading experts at a time when new cases of the most contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus are reaching 50,000 a day and threatening to reach 100,000 this summer.

This “strategy of mass infection risks undermining efforts to fight the pandemic not only in the UK, but in other countries as well.”, warned on Friday a group of scientists including Walter Ricciardi and Michael Baker, who advise the ministries of health of Italy and New Zealand, pointing the risk of development of new variants resistant to the vaccines.

For now, the forecasts made by the government have come true: Monday will arrive with more than 50,000 new cases a day. And the projection is that in a few days 100,000 positives per day will be achieved, greatly surpassing previous records. But Downing Street is confident that hospitalizations and deaths will increase at a much slower rate because of the vaccination.

Confusion and controversy

In this context, the day that many were impatiently awaiting, described by the press as “freedom day”, initially scheduled for June 21 but postponed to advance vaccination, is accompanied by a message of moderation.

“It is absolutely vital that we proceed wisely nowJohnson warned. “We cannot instantly return from Monday, July 19 to life before the covid,” he insisted, moving from legal imposition to personal liability.

Thus, nightclubs will be asked to request proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter – although this is not mandatory as in other countries – and the population is advised to wear masks in crowded places. .

Considering that “the simplest and safest option would have been for the government to maintain the national obligation to wear a mask on public transport”, decided the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. impose its use in city subways and buses.

The menu of confusion and controversy is served. Those who arrive in the capital from the suburbs by train and then take metropolitan transport will have different rules during their trip. And those who are uncomfortable with travelers without a mask will have no legal argument to ask them to put it on.

So will those traveling from England to Scotland, whose home government decided to take a more cautious approach.

Also this region of 5.5 million inhabitants relaxes restrictions against the coronavirus on Monday, but will maintain “for a while” the obligation to wear a mask indoors.

There, teleworking will end “gradually” from August 9 and nightclubs will remain closed.

The whole of the UK will however retain restrictions on international travel.

Thus, only UK citizens or legal residents can arrive from countries on the “red list”, which includes all of South America, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Monday in Cuba. And they have to self-isolate for 10 days in specific hotels paying £ 1,750 per person.

However, those arriving from the “orange list”, which includes Spain and almost all of Europe, will be able to escape home quarantine if they have received the two necessary injections as part of the campaign. British vaccination.

(With information from AFP / by Anna Cuenca)

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