From July 19, the United Kingdom (UK) will no longer require British citizens to wear a face mask while the country will end the social distancing rules and other mandatory rules to curtail Covid, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a briefing on Monday.
Johnson said the government will also no longer going to announce advisorys to encourage people to work from home.
In a bold shift despite daily Covid cases rising a fifth in a week to 27,000, the PM told a Downing Street briefing that they could hit 50,000.
But he insisted even though the pandemic “certainly won’t be over” by July 19 and people should not be ‘demob happy’ the government will no longer issue ‘top down’ orders.
Johnson insisted he had to “balance the risks… the risks of the disease, and the risks of continuing with restrictions.”
“If we don’t go ahead now when we’ve clearly done so much with the vaccination programme to break the link between infection and death.
“If we don’t go ahead now when the summer firebreak is coming up, the school holidays, all the advantages that that should give us in fighting the virus, then the question is, ”when would we go ahead?”
“Particularly given the likelihood the virus will have an extra advantage in the colder months, in the autumn, and in the winter.
“So we run the risk of either opening up at a very difficult time when the virus has an edge, has an advantage in the colder months, or again putting everything off to next year so I do think it’s going to be a very balanced decision next week.”
The one-meter plus decree and advice to work from home where possible will be dropped, with mask-wearing no longer mandatory – while pubs and other venues will not have to collect customer details and will again be able to serve drinks at the bar.
Johnson also said limits on gatherings are going and torpedoed the idea of legally requiring “Covid certificates” at bars and restaurants, with the vaccination drive instead of being trusted to do the heavy lifting of protecting the public.
The news was warmly welcomed by the hospitality industry and other sectors that have been hammered by the crisis.
However, although the premier said he intends to replace self-isolation with testing for anyone who is double jabbed and comes into contact with a positive case, he did not say when that would happen and it is understood it will probably be after July 19. Children would also be covered by the arrangements.
Johnson also said an announcement will be made later in the week on dropping the “bubble” rules that have been causing chaos in schools. There have been signs that the change will only take effect at the start of next term in September – although Sajid Javid suggested tonight that it could happen this month.
The PM stopped short of confirming that quarantine requirements for “amber list” countries will be waived for double-jabbed Brits from July 19. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to make an announcement later in the week.
The plan for the final stage of the roadmap will be subject to a final approval next Monday, although it appears it would take something extraordinary to change the PM’s mind at this stage.
The UK today recorded another 27,334 cases – up nearly a fifth on the same day last week – but deaths remained in single figures at nine.
The government has also said it will “maintain contingency plans for reimposing economic and social restrictions at a local, regional or national level” in case the situation deteriorates.
Meanwhile, doubts have been raised over whether mask-wearing will be completely scrapped this month, even though the law will fall away. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has refused to say whether he will keep the rules on the Tube, while Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has demanded a rethink to protect the vulnerable. Unions warned it would be “gross negligence” to drop the requirement.
Government sources suggested that in theory train companies and businesses could keep demanding face coverings are worn, even if the law is changed. Nicola Sturgeon has also suggested that the rules could continue for longer in Scotland.
Asked whether he would keep wearing masks, Johnson said it would ‘depend on the circumstances’ – pointing out that a crowded Tube train is very different from a deserted late-night service.
Chris Whitty – flanking the PM as usual at the briefing – said he would don a covering if other people were “uncomfortable.”
Putting his faith in the vaccines, Mr. Johnson said: “We’re seeing rising hospital admissions and we must reconcile ourselves sadly to more deaths from Covid.
“In these circumstances, we must take a careful and a balanced decision.
“And there’s only one reason why we can contemplate going ahead to step four in circumstances where we’d normally be locking down further, and that’s because of the continuing effectiveness of the vaccine rollout.”
He said the expectation remains that by July 19 every adult in the UK will have had the offer of the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine and two-thirds will have had a second dose.
And he highlighted that lockdowns ‘inevitably take their toll on people’s lives and livelihoods, on people’s health and mental health.”
“We must be honest with ourselves that if we can’t reopen our society in the next few weeks when we will be helped by the arrival of summer, and by the school holidays, then we must ask ourselves ‘when will we be able to return to normal?” he said.
“And to those who say we should delay again – the alternative to that is to open up in winter when the virus will have an advantage, or not at all this year.”
Speaking at Downing Street, science chief Sir Patrick Vallance warned that ‘deaths are increasing’ and “we would expect that to continue as Covid cases rise, as he said people must ‘behave accordingly in terms of trying to limit transmission.”
Sir Patrick said infections are “going up” and “the link between cases and hospitalisations and cases and deaths is weakened but not completely broken, and we would expect to see some further increase.”
He said, “we are in the face of an increasing epidemic at the moment and therefore we need to behave accordingly in terms of trying to limit transmission.”