Corona easing in England: The restrictions are ending, concerns are growing

At the beginning of the week, many corona rules in England, such as the mask requirement, end. At the same time, the number of new infections every day increases sharply. The country argues about the right way to deal with freedoms.

As the number of new infections increases, so does criticism of the government’s course. Many doctors and scientists consider the planned lifting of the corona restrictions in England to be a mistake.

“Please keep the good behaviors”

Nikki Kanani, who is co-responsible for the NHS health service vaccination program, says she is not involved in politics, but her appeal to the population is unequivocal:

My message is clear: As of Monday, please maintain all of the good behaviors that we have acquired over the past 18 months. Wearing a mask is a great idea, especially indoors. And keep your distance from other people, this will help make others feel good too.

Numerous companies have now responded to the many appeals. Sainsbury’s and Tesco, two of the largest supermarket chains in Great Britain, will ask their customers to wear a mask when shopping beyond Monday. Public transport operators in London, Manchester and other cities are also maintaining the mask requirement, as is Heathrow Airport.

52,000 new infections daily

The number of new infections every day is currently just under 52,000. According to official estimates, it will rise to as much as 100,000 over the summer. Chris Whitty, the UK government’s chief medical adviser, admits the country could find itself in trouble again surprisingly quickly.

Many employers are already complaining about difficulties. They are troubled by the obligation to quarantine, which applies until mid-August for people who have had contact with an infected person. In the first week of July alone, more than 500,000 people in England and Wales were notified by the NHS that they would have to isolate themselves because of such contact.

Doctor Alley Hobbs from Pitsmoore Surgery in Sheffield is about to close her practice because four of her employees are already in self-isolation. She has now started a petition and is demanding that the quarantine requirement be lifted. “If the pandemic continues, more and more people will be infected with Covid, and this will increase the number of contact persons,” she says. “It is absurd that our staff, who have been vaccinated twice, cannot come to work now.”

Nissan and Rolls-Royce warn of mandatory quarantine

Car makers Nissan and Rolls-Royce have warned that if more and more employees have to go into quarantine, it will affect their production. According to media reports, around 900 employees at the Nissan plant in Sunderland, northern England, are already affected; that would be ten percent of the workforce. How should that be, ask entrepreneurs and employers’ associations, when all corona restrictions have been lifted and the virus is spreading even faster?

Meanwhile, the NHS health service is trying to vaccinate even more people. The “Grab a jab” program, which means something like “Take a vaccination with you when you go by”, is intended to make it even easier for citizens to get vaccinated. Those who cannot or do not want to come to the vaccination center can get vaccinated on the way to the supermarket or while walking in the park.