Johnson emphasized at a press conference on Monday that the population must be patient for a while. “I think it is wise to wait a little longer,” said the prime minister. The extra weeks should be used to vaccinate millions more residents and save lives. Johnson: “As things stand now, I’m confident we won’t need more than four weeks.”
The postponement of ‘Freedom Day’ is a bitter pill for the population who had eagerly looked forward to the end of the last corona rules. However, it is not unexpected because it had already been leaked in recent days that Johnson would listen to advice from scientists to postpone.
According to the government’s roadmap, most of the restrictive measures would end by June 21. This would mean that cafes, restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment venues could reopen fully. Now cafes, restaurants and theaters have to adhere to a certain number of visitors. Nightclubs have been closed since the start of the lockdown last year and now remain closed.
Goal posts
Johnson is accused of moving the goalposts every time. “We started with the promise that we can open the country once all vulnerable citizens are vaccinated, and now the prime minister says we can’t go back to our old lives until everyone has had a shot, and then it remains to be seen.” , says Conservative politician Ian Jones.
One scientist, psychologist Susan Michie, has even claimed that some corona measures, such as keeping distance and wearing face masks, should remain.
The well-known theater producer Andrew Lloyd Webber, party colleague of Johnson and former member of the House of Lords, threatened last week to open his theaters completely if ‘Freedom Day’ were postponed. Former Prime Minister Theresa May also criticized Johnson’s caution.
Recent weeks have seen a rapid growth in the number of infections caused by the Delta variant, especially in the north of England. According to health experts, this corona variant is about 60 percent more contagious than the variant of the virus that has so far been the most dangerous in the United Kingdom.
On Monday, there were 7,742 new infections in the United Kingdom and three deaths. Last week, the number of new infections rose by almost fifty percent compared to the week before. The number of hospital admissions is also increasing. Partly due to the substantial number of vaccinations, the advance of the new variant has not led to a crisis situation in the ICUs. So far, nearly 30 million Britons have been fully vaccinated, about 57 percent of the population. More than 41 million inhabitants have already received one dose of the vaccine.
Vaccinations
The number of hospital admissions is still on the low side, well below the predictions of Sage, the British OMT. Research has shown that the vaccinations are particularly effective and that especially older people who have not been vaccinated have problems with the Delta variant. In addition, it has been found that especially younger Britons are now infected. The virus is usually less dangerous for them, because it makes them less seriously ill.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has always advocated lockdowns, is now deeply concerned about the impending extension. The capital has relatively few infections and is recovering from the lockdowns. Johnson could have chosen to extend the restrictions only to the north of the country, but that is electorally bad. The impression can then be created that he favors the rich south.
Johnson will also have looked at the opinion polls in making his decision. More than half of Britons are against giving back all freedoms.
The postponement is a major blow to the art world, which has already been hit so hard by the measures of the past fifteen months. Open-air theaters had hoped to be able to play to full houses this summer. This includes the Minack Theater in Cornwall, which was visited by the partners of world leaders during the G7 summit. This special theater is in danger of getting into serious financial trouble.
–
