England lifts almost all coronavirus restrictions, declares ‘freedom day’

Although infections rise in England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will rise on Monday almost all restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic, in a day called “Freedom day“(” Freedom Day “).

Despite the growing wave of new cases – mainly due to the advance of the Delta variant – the lifting of restrictive measures has been confirmed and the emphasis has been placed on “individual responsibility” to fight covid.

The coronavirus has already killed more than 128,700 in the United Kingdom and it is the most affected territory in Europe in terms of number of cases: it has exceeded the 50 thousand new infections daily for two consecutive days.

Still, Johnson believes the success of the vaccination campaign that began in December (with more than two-thirds of adults vaccinated) “has significantly weakened” the link between illness, hospitalizations and deaths.

According to him, this enabled the public health system to cope with the current situation and led to to decree this “freedom”.

The British Prime Minister also hails the northern hemisphere summer as the “right time” to relax the rulesbecause they fear that other viruses, such as the flu, will worsen the situation in the fall.

However, in a video posted to Twitter on Sunday, Johnson called on the public to act, pointing to the “extreme contagiousness” of the Delta variant. “Please be careful“, He said.

Among the newly infected is Health Minister Sajid Javid, who has been seen forced to isolate after testing positive this Saturday.

The day the country leaves behind the mandatory mask and social distancing, Johnson himself and his Minister of the Economy, Rishi SunakThey are serving a period of isolation due to close contact.

Measure with delay and critical

This step of the process mistrust was scheduled for June 21, but was delayed by four weeks to be able to vaccinate millions more.

The delay in opening was compensated by the slogan of the “freedom day”.

From this Monday, English venues and stadiums can reopen at full capacity, the nightclubs can accept the public again, pubs can resume bar service and now There is no limit in the number of people who can meet.

In addition to chin straps and masks will no longer be compulsory but they are recommended in transport and shops.

The other nations of the United Kingdom (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), which have jurisdiction over health, maintain the obligation to wear a mask in public places closed and in transport.

The Labor opposition claims that the government is “reckless” due to the increase in infections due to the highly contagious Delta variant. The number of daily infections could reach 100,000 this summer, according to the Minister of Health himself.

A group of international scientists asked the UK government to back down in his decision, that he “risks undermining efforts to control the pandemic not only in the UK, but in other countries.”

Even within Johnson’s own conservative camp, there are critical voices.

The former Minister of Health, Jeremy Chasse, called the situation “very serious”, with an increasing number of hospitalizations which could lead the government to reimpose restrictions, as has happened in Israel and the Netherlands.

There are currently around 550 Covid-19 patients in intensive care in the UK, up from more than 4,000 at the height of the second wave in January.

Already from midnight the restrictions are also relaxed at the borders. People who have been fully vaccinated in the UK and come from countries classified as ‘amber’, including many tourist destinations such as Italy and Spain, and they will not have to comply with quarantine upon arrival.

The exception is France, due to the “persistent presence” of cases of the Beta variant, which worries the government for its Resistance to AstraZeneca vaccine, widely used in the UK.

With AFP.

DS