Great Britain wants to loosen up.
This step by Prime Minister Boris Johnson is controversial as the number of infections with the corona virus is currently rising again.
But he sticks to the plan.
London - distance rules, mask requirement, home office: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to largely lift the remaining corona measures in England by July 19, despite the increasing number of infections.
That comes from a government press release on Monday.
Johnson wanted to present the plans at a press conference that evening.
In the UK, the number of infections has been rising sharply for weeks. The seven-day incidence, i.e. the number of new infections per 100,000 people within a week, was last given as 214 (as of June 29). More than 24,000 new infections were registered on Sunday alone. The reason for this is the highly contagious Delta variant, which now accounts for almost all cases in Great Britain.
At the same time, the number of deaths with 122 Covid deaths within a week (until June 29) is currently still at a relatively low level. Hospital admissions have not increased to the same extent as the number of infections. The government attributes this to the successful vaccination campaign. 86 percent of adults in the UK are now vaccinated at least once. Almost 64 percent of people over the age of 18 already have both vaccinations.
The government in London assumes that the number of infections will continue to rise, but one must now learn to live with the virus. Containing the pandemic should in future be left to the people themselves. "As we learn to live with the virus, we must all continue to be careful with the risks posed by Covid-19 and make trade-offs in daily life," said Johnson, according to the statement. The planned repeal of the Corona rules will initially apply to the largest part of England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland make their own decisions about their actions.
Critical voices, however, come from experts and representatives of the chronically underfunded health service NHS, which celebrated the 73rd anniversary of its establishment on Monday. Saffron Cordery of the NHS Providers hospital association warned that the health service was in a "rather tense situation". Although the number of Covid patients is not as high as in previous waves, there is also an enormous backlog of other treatments that have been postponed in the pandemic.
Above all, the planned end of the mask requirement met with incomprehension. "We know masks work," said Nikki Kanani, who is responsible for primary health care at NHS England, to Times Radio on Monday. The head of the British Medical Association (BMA), Chaand Nagpaul, said on BBC radio that it is incomprehensible that "people are knowingly exposed to an infection risk" in a time of high infection rates.
Behavioral psychologist Stephen Reicher from the University of St. Andrews, who is advising the government on the pandemic, also warned of an end to the mask requirement. He compared wearing a mask with speed limits in traffic. “My freedom to drive fast affects the safety of others. My freedom not to wear a mask has an impact on the safety of others from Covid disease, "said Reicher, according to the BBC. Regulation is necessary in these areas. dpa