Status: 07/19/2021 10:12 p.m.
When, if not now? – It is the promise of freedom with which British Prime Minister Johnson beckons. The corona requirements have fallen almost completely – the number of infections, on the other hand, is increasing rapidly.
Personal responsibility instead of regulations – under this credo, extensive easing of the corona measures have been in force in England since today. Masks are now voluntary in most places, as is keeping your distance. There are no longer any restrictions on clubs or private parties, and theaters and cinemas are also allowed to fully occupy their halls.
“When should we do it if not now?” Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked at a virtual press conference. The situation will be even more difficult in autumn or winter. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are a little more cautious in their corona policy – they decide themselves on the pandemic measures. Johnson is only responsible for England on this matter.
In London and other major cities, thousands of party-goers greeted their newfound freedom in the early hours of the morning with the first club night in months. There are no mandatory corona vaccination certificates for clubs and other major events – the British government does not want to require them until the autumn.
Incidence at nearly 400
But the “Freedom Day” long-awaited by many and pushed by Johnson stands on shaky foundations: The highly contagious Delta variant is causing the number of corona infections in Great Britain to continue to rise – the wave is not in sight, the seven days -Incidence was last given as 399 (as of July 14th). More than 50,000 new cases are registered almost every day – almost as many as at the height of the second wave at the turn of the year.
The vaccination rate in the country is high – 88 percent of adults in the UK have had a first vaccination and just under 68 percent have been vaccinated twice. But experts doubt whether that will be enough to withstand a large wave of infections.
Government advisor corrects information
Young people, for example, are rarely vaccinated. The British government followed the assessment of the vaccination commission and spoke out against a general vaccination recommendation for young people. Government advisor Patrick Vallance corrected a statement on Twitter from the day that around 60 percent of those infected with corona hospitalized have now been fully vaccinated. Rather, 60 percent of corona patients are not vaccinated.
According to epidemiologist Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, it is “almost inevitable” that the number of new infections every day will soon exceed 100,000. “The real question is whether it will be twice as much, or even more,” Ferguson told the BBC on Sunday. In the worst case, when the number of hospital admissions reaches 2,000 or 3,000 a day, measures would have to be taken again to get the situation under control, he warned.
England is lifting almost all corona restrictions due to a successful vaccination campaign
Annette Dittert, ARD London, daily news 8:00 p.m., 7/19/2021
1.7 million Britons in quarantine – including Johnson
Far-reaching relaxations with a high vaccination rate, but also extremely high numbers of infections: It is an experiment that has hardly been tried in this form in any other country. Already now, well before the presumed peak of the current wave, it is becoming apparent that freedom and pandemic do not really want to go together: According to a report, around 1.7 million British people are currently in quarantine because they are close contacts between infected people Corona app “pinged” or called by the health service.
This becomes a logistical problem: because there are no train drivers, wait staff or cashiers, subway lines have already had to temporarily stop their trips, the first pubs to close again or supermarkets to shorten opening times. Business associations are calling for the mandatory quarantine after contact with infected people to be replaced by daily tests for vaccinated people – this principle has already been introduced in the health service. Johnson also announced exceptions for critical infrastructure employees.
He is also currently in isolation for ten days, as is Finance Minister Rishi Sunak. Both had previously been in contact with the infected health minister Sajid Javid.