Covid-19 in the United Kingdom: Boris Johnson launches the new stage of deconfinement

A pint on the terrace, yes, a holiday abroad, not yet: the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, on Monday gave the green light to the next stage of deconfinement but called on his fellow citizens to be in a hurry to go to the sun afterwards. a long, confined winter.

The marked improvement in the health situation in the United Kingdom, the country most affected in Europe by Covid-19 (nearly 127,000 dead) and confined since the beginning of January, and the progress of the vaccination give the British desire for travel, accustomed to going en masse during the summer to the beaches of the Mediterranean.

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Despite growing pressure, Boris Johnson confined himself, this Monday, to confirming the reopening on April 12 in England of non-essential businesses such as hairdressers, pub terraces or gyms.

He refused, on the other hand, to commit to a date for the return of trips abroad, prohibited as is until May 17, except for essential reasons.

A traffic light system soon in place

"I do not want to be hostage to fate or underestimate the difficulties that we see in some countries where people want to go," asserted the conservative leader at a press conference.

“We don't want to see the virus being re-imported to this country from overseas.

There is a resurgence in certain parts of the world ”, he added before launching this observation:“ We are not there ”.

What to disappoint the British in need of sun, or not convinced by the calls to benefit locally from the "Great British summer", as well as tourism professionals kept in the dark.

We set out our roadmap and we're sticking to it.

It is by being cautious, by monitoring the data at every stage, and by following the rules - remembering hands, face, space and fresh air - that we hope together to make this roadmap to freedom irreversible.

pic.twitter.com/EQM74Muu3p

- Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 5, 2021

The government contented itself with making public the main principles governing future travel: a traffic light system to classify countries according to the degree of progress of their vaccination, their rate of contamination or the presence of worrying variants.

Green destinations will be exempt from quarantine on return - a test before departure and after arrival will however be required - unlike orange (tests and quarantine at home) and red (arrivals limited to residents, costly quarantine at home). hotel and tests).

Downing Street, however, said it was still premature to compile a list of countries, and continues to advise against bookings abroad.

Currently, all travelers arriving in the UK are required to complete a ten-day quarantine at home, or, for countries at risk, at the hotel at their own expense.

The borders are closed for non-residents coming from a country on the red list.

The dreaded variants

The government fears the importation of variants resistant to anti-Covid vaccines, a first dose of which has been injected into 31 million people, almost every over 50 years.

Thanks to the rapid advance of vaccination and containment, the country now records less than 5,000 cases and 50 deaths per day.

It has 3,500 patients with Covid-19 in its hospitals, 10 times less than at the start of the year.

To keep control, the government intends to strengthen screening, with two tests per week offered to the entire population in England.

He is considering a health passport system for mass gatherings, such as football matches and indoor events.

This certificate would indicate that a person has been vaccinated, is negative for the coronavirus or has antibodies.

It will not be required on public transport or in pubs.

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Several pilot tests will be launched from mid-April, notably for the England Football Cup final at Wembley Stadium, which will also host the Euro football final on July 11.

But this health passport project is cringe, and it has already been judged discriminatory by more than 70 British deputies from all over the political spectrum, which could potentially fail in the event of a vote in Parliament.