UK eager for a big reopening

15: When London’s Science Museum reopens next week, it will have some new artifacts: Empty vaccine vials, testing kits and other items collected during the pandemic, to be featured in a new Covid-19 display.

Britain isn’t quite ready to consign the Coronavirus to a museum — the outbreak is far from over. But there is a definite feeling that the UK has turned a corner, and the mood in the country is upbeat.

“The end is in sight,” one newspaper front page claimed. “Free at last.” read another.

Thanks to an efficient vaccine rollout programme, Britain is finally saying goodbye to months of tough lockdown restrictions.

Starting Monday, all restaurants and bars in England can reopen with some precautions in place, as can hotels, theatres and museums. And Britons will be able to hug friends and family again, with the easing of social distancing rules that have been in place since the pandemic began.

It’s the biggest step yet to reopen the country following an easing of the crisis blamed for nearly 128,000 deaths, the highest reported Covid-19 toll in Europe.

Deaths in Britain have come down to single digits in recent days.