Delta variant is still around in the UK, but Johnson now wants to ‘learn to live with virus’

While the corona infections in England are still increasing, the measures against the same infections are already being phased out. On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that almost all corona measures are expected to expire in two weeks.

From July 19, among other things, the mouth cap obligation must disappear in almost all places social distancing no longer necessary and there are no legal limits to the number of people you can meet with. Also, vaccinated English people no longer have to self-isolate if they have had contact with an infected person or come back from a country with a high infection rate, the nightclubs open again and restaurant and cafe visitors no longer have to register.

These relaxations should have been implemented in mid-June, but were then postponed due to the increase in the number of corona infections due to the advance of the Delta variant of the virus in the United Kingdom. That advance is still there, just like the calls to hold on to the corona measures for a while. But Johnson doesn’t want to hear about any further delay.

Criticism from own party on postponement

According to the prime minister, it is time for the British to learn to live with the virus. He appealed on Monday to the common sense of his compatriots, who after a year and a half of pandemic would know when it is better to put on a mouth cap or cancel a visit to their grandparents. “We want to give people the opportunity to make informed decisions for themselves,” said the Conservative prime minister.

One factor in the decision is that although more and more corona infections are being diagnosed, the number of hospitalizations of people with Covid-19 and deaths from the disease have increased significantly less quickly. In comparison: over the past week, an average of more than 25,000 infections and 18 corona deaths per day registered, while at the end of January hundreds of people died a day at a comparable infection rate. This is the result of the relatively quick UK vaccination campaign: over 86 percent of UK residents have now had at least one shot of a corona vaccine.

But there are also political reasons for Johnson to continue the easing. Mid June originated unrest in his Conservative Party as he announced Easing Day, also known as Freedom Day, to postpone. Tory MPs felt the postponement broke Johnson’s previous promises and some even feared it meant the measures would last forever.

‘Always a risk’

The prime minister was then forced to promise that the restrictions would indeed disappear in the short term. It only took a few weeks of delay for more people to be vaccinated by the time the country actually opened up. According to the government, this would save thousands of lives. This line of reasoning was accepted and most Tories eventually agreed to the postponement, but Johnson probably wouldn’t get away with the same line of reasoning again.

The government also invokes the fact that easing is always associated with risks. In an opinion piece in The Mail on Sunday New Health Minister Sajid Javid wrote on Sunday that “no date we choose is without risk.”

Johnson even stated on Monday that if the relaxations cannot take effect on July 19, the most drastic measures may not disappear until the winter. The ministers make no secret of the fact that the relaxations will be accompanied by a further increase in the number of positive tests and hospitalizations and deaths – that too would be part of learning to “live with Covid-19”.

Criticism from medical professionals and science

The government’s approach is not yet convincing to everyone. After the British press received wind of the expected relaxation this weekend, several scientists were critical of the plans. This is how behavioral psychologist Susan Michie stated in TV program on Monday Good Morning Britain that if the virus can spread further, variants can arise that the current vaccines cannot cope with. She also emphasized that the number of people suffering from lung Covid, the stubborn variant of the disease that sometimes puts people out of action for months will increase – which can have major social and economic implications.

The British doctors’ union underlined moreover, that the number of hospital admissions is slowly but surely increasing and that the healthcare staff has not yet recovered from the busy past year and a half. It is also doubted to what extent Britons will put on mouth caps themselves and keep their distance when necessary.

All in all, enough reason for political opponents of Johnson to speak out against the relaxation. Shortly before his press conference, the rebellious London mayor of Sadiq Khan, for example, called on the prime minister – in vain – to maintain the mask obligation in public transport. And Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham (like Khan of the opposition Labor party) christened July 19 on the radio as Loss of Freedom Day, namely for the vulnerable British who would no longer dare to enter the supermarket if everyone would soon be walking around without a mouth cap.

Decided next week

There is still a small chance that the critics will get their way and Britons will continue to be obliged to wear masks and keep their distance for the time being, because the formal decision for the relaxations will be taken, as usual, a week in advance (on July 12). Because as Johnson himself said during the press conference: “It is far from the end of the fight against this virus.”

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