Photos of England’s celebrations for Europa that ignite alerts for new wave of COVID-19

“Football is coming home” It is the song that millions of English sing these days, gathered around the European Championship of which their team will play the final. But they could also “bring home” a contagion of COVID, before the wave of infections that is advancing at full speed and, according to experts, will surpass previous records of the pandemic on British territory.

Boris Johnson’s government announced plans to lift all health restrictions on July 19 and calls for individual responsibility. “The country must learn to live with COVID”Said Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

Although the number of new cases skyrockets to around 25,000 per day due to the highly contagious Delta variantThanks to vaccines, this has not translated into a sharp increase in hospitalizations and deaths. For the government, this justifies the decision to end all legal impositions established by the pandemic in the country with the most COVID deaths in Europe.

However, Wednesday’s footage in London (and to a lesser extent in other cities) of England triumphing over Denmark and qualifying for the final looked far from a context of personal responsibility.

In addition to the more than 60,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium in London, England’s victory sparked scenes of jubilation in the streets, as fans celebrated that their national team had reached the final of a major tournament for the first time. since the 1966 World Cup.

Social gatherings will be repeated on Sunday, when England face Italy in the final, and if the championship wins, the lack of control in the streets would be even greater.

The government’s own estimates indicated that by July 19 there would be 50,000 cases per day, and soon after that the number of infections would reach 100,000. However, transmission could be even faster: Imperial College London has reported that new cases are doubling every six days.

A widely followed study on coronavirus infections indicated that gatherings of men to watch games could be one reason women are less likely to test positive in the virus in recent days in England.

Supply results for the period June 24 to July 5, prepared by Imperial College London and pollster Ipsos Mori, showed that infections had quadrupled since the previous study, known as React-1. According to the survey, one in 170 people in England has been infected.

The the prevalence of the virus was also higher in men – 0.7% versus 0.5% for women – according to Professor Paul Elliott, director of the React program at the School of Public Health at Imperial College. This could be because gatherings of men in homes and pubs to watch European tournament matches had been a factor in the trend, he noted.

Fans waving flags in Trafalgar Square in London on Wednesday left their seats to blend into a huge swaying crowd after the final whistle. A group of fans boarded a double-decker bus. It was necessary to look to find one who keeps the mask.

The phenomenon had already been noticed in Russia, where Eurocup matches were also played, with audiences in the stadiums.

“Despite the fact that the organizers of the Eurocup tried to comply with the restrictive measures, the citizens could not strictly comply with them in the heat of emotion. We are currently seeing an increase in infections in the city, but we are controlling the situation, ”Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Gólikova said on Tuesday, referring to the increase in infections in St. Petersburg, a city that has hosted six meetings. .

The London authorities are also using the Eurocup but to try to speed up vaccination among young people. Those who request their turn between Tuesday and Thursday will automatically participate in a draw for tickets to the tournament final. “We are trying to encourage as many Londoners as possible to get vaccinated,” said Mayor Sadiq Khan.

(With information from AP, AFP, EFE)

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