Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that he will lift almost all of the remaining corona rules on July 19.
There is sharp criticism of this decision.
London - British doctors have warned of "potentially devastating consequences" in view of the far-reaching end of the corona rules in England.
The head of the medical association BMA, Chaand Nagpaul, called the project on Tuesday "irresponsible and - to be honest - dangerous".
Nagpaul was particularly critical of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “The Prime Minister has repeatedly stressed the importance of slow and careful action. But in reality the government is throwing all caution to the wind by lifting all regulations in one fell swoop. ”Cabinet member Stephen Barclay defended the announcement.
Johnson had announced the previous day that almost all of the remaining corona rules would be lifted on July 19. This means that the obligation to keep a distance and the mask requirement no longer applies, night clubs are allowed to reopen, and there are no longer any audience restrictions for events. Johnson urged the population to continue wearing masks in places with many people, and urged discos and event organizers to check their guests with a digital vaccination card. However, this is not required by law. Due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, the number of new corona infections had recently increased significantly across the country.
Finance State Secretary Barclay told Sky News that there was no perfect time for the opening.
The vaccination success now offers a time window, also in view of the upcoming school holidays.
The country must "return to normal" and learn to live with the virus.
However, he acknowledged that rules could be reintroduced if the situation worsened.
The scientific expert panel Sage, which advises the government, assumes at least 1,000 hospital admissions and 100 to 200 deaths per day because of the relaxation.
dpa