Britain is taking another small step out of lockdown, though it nervously watches as a new wave of coronavirus floods its European neighbors.
Britain’s COVID-19 vaccination rate exceeds that of European Union nations, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to relax the strict “stay home” message that has restricted daily activities – and kept the virus at bay – for almost three months.
Starting Monday, he will be replaced in England with a message to mobilize only locally. People will be allowed to meet in groups of six outdoors and sports such as basketball, tennis and golf will be allowed, also outdoors.
Britain’s other regions – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – are taking very similar steps. In Wales, thousands of people flocked to beaches and mountain sites on Saturday after authorities lifted travel restrictions that have been in place since December.
Most businesses that are not considered essential remain closed, along with taverns, restaurants, gyms, cinemas, theaters, museums and sports stadiums. Millions of workers have been temporarily laid off, and the government is paying them most of their wages.
Britain has recorded more than 126,000 deaths from COVID-19, the highest in Europe.
Stephen Powis, medical director of the National Health Service in England, urged people to continue to adhere to the rules and limit their contact with others, saying that the fact that the lockdown is relaxed “does not mean that we have finished the work” .
“We have made enormous strides that we have to continue to build on and not squander the gains we have made,” he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
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