The British government lifted all restrictions on quarantine on Monday, July 19, although scientists and the opposition say it is a dangerous leap into the unknown.
From midnight on Sunday, nightclubs have resumed operations, and all other indoor facilities have also been allowed to resume full operations.
Mandatory safety masks and teleworking have also been abolished.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who himself was forced to adhere to self-isolation after the health minister became infected with Covid-19, has called on the public to exercise reasonable caution, but for two-thirds of fellow citizens who have not yet been vaccinated to join.
Many media have welcomed the lifting of the restrictions as a “Freedom Day”, while scientists are concerned that the number of new infections in the UK has again exceeded 50,000 a day.
“If we don’t do it now, we would open in the fall, in the winter, when the virus would have the benefits of cold weather,” Johnson told scientists, adding that the start of the school holidays this week is a good time to lift restrictions. “If we do not do it now, we must ask ourselves when we will finally do it. This is the right time, but we must be careful. “
Meanwhile, Jonathan Ashworth, the health minister for opposition Labor Shadow Cabinet, has said the government is acting “recklessly” in echoing experts who say Britain’s decision threatens global health.
Ashworth has been particularly critical of the relinquishment of protective masks.
Following a successful vaccination campaign, the government believes that hospitals are no longer at risk of overcrowding.-
But Neil Ferguson, a professor at Imperial College London, warns that with the spread of the Indian or delta variant of the virus, Britain is threatened with an increase in the number of infections to 100,000 a day.
Despite the fact that Britain is now experiencing fewer deaths than in previous pandemic waves, doctors warn that lifting the restrictions could lead to an increase in infections, again putting undue pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) and the emergence of new variants of the virus. .
Even the conservative spokesman Jeremy Hunt, who once held the chair of health minister, calls on the government to take into account the experiences of Israel and the Netherlands, and points out that they have had to renew them once the restrictions have been lifted.
Scotland and Wales, whose governments determine their own health policies, have stated that they maintain restrictions, including the wearing of mandatory protective masks.
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