Other countries wary as England plans to end Covid curbs despite Delta surge

Other countries battling Covid-19 are watching with interest after the UK prime minister announced on Monday that on 19 July, nearly all legal restrictions on social contact in England will end. 

AFP - DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the announcement on Monday but warned that the pandemic “is not over”. Health decisions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are made at local level and the administrations are to announce their own arrangements shortly.

The decision to end restrictions in England was originally planned for 21 June but was delayed so that more people could be vaccinated as the more contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 took hold.

Health Minister Sajid Javid said the government was now "on track" to beat its target of offering every adult a first dose by 19 July.

The peak of the current wave in England is expected in mid-August when there are predictions of between 1 and 2 thousand Covid-related hospital admissions per day, and possibly up to 200 deaths.

Javid told MPs on Monday that although cases could reach 100,000 a day later in the summer, vaccinations had created a "protective wall", and so health systems should be able to cope.

Laws replaced by guidance and recommendations

While almost all legal restrictions on social contact will end, some guidelines are to remain in place. The aim is for people to take more personal responsibility for their decisions rather than relying on government-imposed rules.

Javid said that mask-wearing in enclosed public places, though no longer legally required, would be “expected and recommended”.

And while nightclubs, reopening for the first time since March 2020, will not be subject to government-imposed capacity limits, owners were encouraged to demand that users show vaccine passports before entry, “as a matter of social responsibility”.

The government said it could later decide to make such passports mandatory for entry to certain venues.

Vaccine passports, issued by the UK’s National Health Service would show proof of a full vaccination, a negative test result or natural immunity after recovering from Covid-19.

Companies and employees in England will from 19 July 19 make their own decisions about working from home, although Johnson urged a gradual return to the workplace.

No 'ideal' date

England's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty said there was "no such thing as an ideal date" to lift restrictions.

However, he explained that it was hoped there would be advantages to ending restrictions on 19 July while children were out of school and the weather was warmer.  

On Monday, the UK recorded 34,471 new cases, above 30,000 for the sixth consecutive day. There were 6 deaths.

Eighty-seven percent of adults in the UK have now had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while around two-thirds of adults have had both injections.