ENGLISH PUBLIC REMAINS CAUTIOUS AS COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS ARE LIFTED
▶ UK prime minister marks ‘Freedom Day’ in isolation after health secretary tested positive for the disease
England’s grand reopening has been greeted with caution and concern, with many people planning to continue to wear a mask as the Covid-19 Delta variant wreaks havoc in the UK.
Yesterday marked “Freedom Day”, when all restrictions on social gatherings were lifted and a legal requirement to wear a mask in public spaces came to an end. Nightclubs also opened for the first time since March last year.
People vaccinated against Covid-19 can travel to dozens more countries without having to isolate when they return.
Government officials urged the public to remain cautious after safety measures were eased, with infection rates reaching highs in about one in six areas of England.
That included almost all local authority areas in north-east England, about half in southwest England, and a third in Yorkshire and the Humber.
UK Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said the success of the national vaccination programme meant restrictions could be lifted, but he urged the public to act responsibly.
“We must not be complacent or take the freedoms of today for granted,” he said.
“As we move away from government diktat, we enter a new stage, a new phase, where our response to the virus is with an emphasis on personal responsibility and corporate responsibility.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent “Freedom Day” in isolation after Health Secretary Sajid Javid tested positive for Covid-19.
A public outcry meant Mr Johnson was forced to abandon his initial plan to take daily tests instead of entering quarantine.
Mr Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak were identified as contacts of Mr Javid by the National Health Service app, which has forced hundreds of thousands of people to isolate. The wave of alerts issued by the app has been called a “pingdemic”.
The incident overshadowed the reopening of the country and Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, accused the government of presiding over “chaos, confusion and cronyism”.
“With family events cancelled, businesses having to close, and workers going without pay, Johnson and Sunak’s attempts to dodge isolation were crass and they were insensitive,” he said.
Lifting all restrictions was reckless at a time when the Delta variant was spreading through the country, he said.
“Johnson’s recklessness risks plunging us back into restrictions again,” he said.
“Freedom Day is just the latest in a long list of slogans not backed up by policy.”
The government said cases of Covid-19 would continue to increase, but that the inoculation drive had substantially reduced the need for hospital treatment and the risk of death.
Authorities have told the public to continue to wear masks in crowded places such as trains.
People have been urged not to delete the NHS app in an effort to avoid being told to isolate.
Anyone who tests positive for the disease will still be legally required to isolate. Isolation rules for their close contacts will be eased on August 16, with children and fully vaccinated people to become exempt.
Border controls will be maintained, including quarantine for all those travelling from a country on the UK’s red list and for unvaccinated people returning from amber list countries.
Airlines such as British Airways and Ryanair dropped on the stock market yesterday over concerns that restrictions would hinder the industry’s recovery.
Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, said he would turn off the NHS app because it was no longer necessary when most people were vaccinated.
“I would switch off the app, I don’t think it has any effect any more. We are going to have to learn to live with Covid,” he told Sky News.
Meanwhile, partygoers in London flocked to midnight events to mark the reopening of nightclubs.
A group of anti-lockdown protesters gathered for a rally near the Houses of Parliament in London yesterday, with some of those in attendance chanting “freedom” and holding up signs bearing anti-vaccination messages.
Prince Charles has started a three-day tour of the southwest of England, appearing without a mask as he spoke to choristers at Exeter Cathedral.
But a survey carried out by the Office of National Statistics suggests most people plan to play it safe, even after restrictions were lifted.
The report showed that 64 per cent of people will continue to cover their faces in shops and on public transport.
More than half of those surveyed said they were worried about plans to open up.
The lifting of Covid-19 measures had been delayed by four weeks to allow more people to be fully vaccinated. About 68 per cent of adults in England have received both doses.
Vaccines could soon be given to children, with health chiefs expected to recommend that the inoculation drive is expanded to include youngsters who are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19.
Data from Public Health England suggests that one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine is 80 per cent effective at protecting against the need for hospital treatment with the Delta variant. That increases to 96 per cent after two doses.