OPEN TO TROUBLE

Medics label Freedom Day ‘madness’

BORIS Johnson is being urged to do an 11th hour Freedom Day U-turn as a nervous nation tells him: “You’re going too fast, too soon.”

Scientists, doctors, politicians and voters united to warn the Prime Minister that opening up tomorrow risks another lockdown as cases are predicted to hit 100,000 a day.

One exasperated senior medic in the NHS put it bluntly, saying: “I think we’re screwed.”

And in an ill omen of what is to come doublejabbed Health Secretary Sajid Javid, 51, tested positive for Covid yesterday and isolated with “very mild” symptoms. That raised the prospect of the PM and his Cabinet having to isolate too.

Yesterday recorded 54,674 new cases – the highest since January – with 41 deaths.

Independent SAGE’s Professor Christina Pagel warned: “Opening up is madness. We shouldn’t be doing it.”

And Birmingham neurologist Dr David Nicholl called for Freedom Day to be renamed “Freedumb day”. He insisted: “We have to get the numbers of people vaccinated up. If we just waited a few more weeks, we could get the job properly finished... I think we’re screwed.”

An exclusive Sunday Mirror poll shows more than four in five people are not comfortable with the loosening of the rules and will continue to follow them beyond Freedom Day.

And nearly seven in 10 will still mask up in shops and on buses and trains, despite the order no longer being law. That rises to 79% of over-65s. Freedom Day is most popular with the 25-34 age group with six in 10 backing the lifting of restrictions. That goes down to 46% among 18-24s who are least likely to be jabbed. Only five in 100 people think tomorrow will mark a return to normality, found Redfield & Wilton Strategies which quizzed 1,500 voters.

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt fears England could be plunged back into lockdown this autumn as cases rocket to 100,000 a day.

“The warning light on the NHS dashboard is not flashing amber, it is flashing red,” he said.

And he demanded urgent changes to reduce the sensitivity of the NHS Covid app to stop people deleting it from their phones. Mean

while, Independent SAGE warned the number of current cases could actually be five times higher than official figures because only 20% of those with symptoms are getting tested.

Worryingly, more than half the population is still not double jabbed and half of black adults are yet to have a first dose.

Dr Kit Yates, of Bath University, admitted: “At a time when we really need it, vaccination is slowing down massively.”

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth attacked the PM for failing to follow the science.

He blasted: “Instead of caution, he’s pushing his foot down on the accelerator while throwing the seat belts off.”

Mr Johnson has repeatedly said he wants the lifting of restrictions to be “irreversible”, but the tone is changing in Whitehall to one of caution as worries grow. A senior Government source said yesterday: “The pandemic is not over. We need people to continue being vigilant and wear a face covering in confined spaces.”

Supermarkets Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi and Asda say they will encourage customers to wear masks but will not enforce it. The Co-op said: “It’s not our place to refuse to serve a customer who chooses not to wear one. It can be a flashpoint for violence and abuse.”

Public health professor Martin McKee said the public had been left dazed by the Tories’ mixed messages. “Dominic Cummings’ description of the Prime Minister as a shopping trolley veering all over the place seems remarkably accurate,” he said. “No wonder people are confused.”

As Britain opens up other parts of the world are clamping down as the more infectious Delta variant causes havoc.

In the Netherlands cases skyrocketed 500% after restrictions were lifted last month in clubs, bars and restaurants.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte apologised for being too hasty. “We thought it was possible, but it wasn’t,” he said. Bars must once again only serve socially distanced customers who are seated and close by midnight.

Sydney is in lockdown again after a spike in cases and there are surges in five US states with low vaccination rates, including California.

In France Covid passports will be needed to get into restaurants, cafés and cinemas from next month.