LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will press ahead with lifting most remaining COVID restrictions on 19 July, despite warnings from the government’s scientific advisers that the “exit wave” could result in more than 200 deaths a day and thousands of hospitalisations, foreign media reported.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Monday, the prime minister urged “extreme caution” on Monday, as he gave the final confirmation that step four of the roadmap would go ahead next week.
It will mean nightclubs can reopen, social distancing rules will be abandoned and mask-wearing will no longer be legally enforceable, in a “big bang” approach the shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, called “pushing down on the accelerator while throwing off the seatbelt”.
But in a marked shift of emphasis from a week ago, when he said mask-wearing would become a matter of “personal choice”, Johnson said he would “expect and recommend” that face coverings be worn in crowded indoor spaces, and people were advised to limit their contact with those outside their households.
He warned businesses such as nightclubs and theatres that it was their “social responsibility” to check their customers’ COVID status; and said he expected the return to offices to take place only “gradually”. Government documents said that ministers will “consider mandating” the NHS COVID Pass if “sufficient measures are not taken to limit infection”.
The health secretary, Sajid Javid, had earlier told MPs: “This is not the end of the road. It’s the start of a new phase of continued caution, where we live with the virus and manage the risks.”
Under questioning from the health select committee chair, Jeremy Hunt, Javid declined to rule out imposing new restrictions in the future, if ministers judged it to be necessary. Government advisers expect about 1,000 to 2,000 daily hospital admissions over the summer as restrictions are lifted, and 100-200 deaths a day under what was described a “central scenario”. This would depend on how quickly the public’s behaviour returns to normal.
Minutes published by the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) also highlighted the threat of a new vaccine-resistant variant emerging in the UK, which they warned would pose a risk to the whole world.
Johnson said there would be an increase in cases whenever restrictions were lifted, and it was better to do so now, with the “natural firebreak” of the school summer holidays, than during the autumn or winter when the NHS is already under intense pressure. “But it is absolutely vital that we proceed now with caution, and I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough – this pandemic is not over,” he said. “This disease, coronavirus, continues to carry risks for you and your family. We cannot simply revert instantly on Monday 19 July to life as it was before COVID.”
Asked if the government’s message in recent days had been confusing, Johnson avoided the question and again stressed the need for a slow approach: “Yes, this is a big package of measures we’re announcing, but it will only work if people are cautious in the way they go ahead with it.”
Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said people should avoid a rush back to work, keep away from crowded areas, and be wary about unnecessary meetings. “It’s a message about going steadily, and that’s what people have been doing all the way through this,” Whitty said. “That’s all we’re really saying – carry on being steady.” Earlier, the health secretary told the House of Commons cases could reach 100,000 a day later in the summer but he did not believe this would put “unsustainable pressure on the NHS”. Vaccinations had created a “protective wall”, which would mean we could “withstand a summer wave”, Sajid Javid added.
Javid also said people should act with “personal responsibility” and “try to meet people outside where possible”. The requirement to self-isolate if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace will remain in place until 16 August, when it will be relaxed for people who are fully vaccinated and for the under-18s. If someone tests positive for the virus they will still be legally required to self-isolate. Wales is due to review its restrictions on 15 July, while Scotland is expected to move to level 0 - the lowest level of restrictions in its roadmap - on 19 July and lift most legal restrictions on 9 August. Northern Ireland is due to ease some COVID measures on 26 July. Labour criticised the government’s approach to unlocking on 19 July as “high risk” and “fatalistic”.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told MPs in the Commons: “Instead of caution [the health secretary] is putting his foot down the on the accelerator while throwing the seat belt off.”
“That means potentially thousands [of people] suffering debilitating Long COVID. It means, as more cases arise, potentially more escape and the threat of new more transmissible variants emerging,” he added. The British Chambers of Commerce said many businesses would be “sighing with relief” to get the green light to reopen but they “still don’t have the full picture they desperately need to properly plan for unlocking”.
Claire Walker, co-executive director, said: “Business leaders aren’t public health experts and cannot be expected to know how best to operate when confusing and sometimes contradictory advice is coming from official sources.”
