No face masks, no social distancing, this country ends Covid-19 restrictions on July 19

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced his government will no longer force people in England to wear face masks from later this month, and social distancing will be scrapped.  Mr Johnson confirmed the government’s COVID-19 restrictions would be scrapped on July 19, dubbed “Freedom Day” by many around the country, which will also see limits on the number of people that can meet indoors end.

The announcement comes amid a third wave of the pandemic, with rates of infection at their highest since February this year as the Delta variant spreads throughout the country. More than 178,000 new coronavirus infections were recorded in the past week. On Monday, the United Kingdom recorded 27,334 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

While during that time period another nine people died after testing positive for COVID-19 in the past 28 days taking the total death toll to 128,231 people since the pandemic began early last year.  Deaths and hospitalisations are significantly down, thanks mainly to the UK’s ambitious vaccination drive that has seen more than 45 million people nearly 86 per cent of adults receive their first vaccine, while 33 million have had two doses.

Speaking during a press conference at Downing Street, Mr Johnson said summer was the right time to undergo the final unlocking.  “We must be honest with ourselves that if we can’t reopen our society in the next few weeks, when we will be helped by the arrival of summer and by the school holidays, then we must ask ourselves when will we be able to return to normal?” he said.

Under the unlocking plans, nightclubs will be allowed to reopen and patrons will be allowed to order from the bar at pubs, removing the requirement for table service at hospitality venues. People will also no longer be asked to work from home beyond July 19, and the intervals between vaccine doses for those under 40 will be reduced from 12 weeks to eight.

The final decision will be announced on July 12 following a review of the latest data, with additions to the plans surrounding overseas travel and schools set to be released later this week. The devolved administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales set their own coronavirus rules, with Wales and Northern Ireland set to review the easing of restrictions later this month.

Scotland’s government has indicated it may require mask wearing in some settings beyond August 9, when it has signalled most other restrictions will end.