Boris Johnson has announced plans to lift most of England's legal coronavirus restrictions, including face masks and social distancing from 19 July, urging personal responsibility rather than government edict.
The British Prime Minister had initially aimed for a full reopening on 21 June, but was forced to push back the date because of a surge in the highly contagious Delta variant.
That variant now accounts for nearly all new Covid-19 cases in Britain, and infection rates have soared, sparking concern.
Boris Johnson says the aim is to get away from government diktats to relying on personal responsibility. 'I will obviously wear a mask in crowded places where you're meeting people you don't know ... to protect others and as a matter of simple courtesy' | https://t.co/INvMfN0wJi pic.twitter.com/AUIrDIHVlS
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) July 5, 2021
But mass vaccinations have stopped a resultant surge in hospital admissions or deaths.
"This pandemic is far from over, it certainly won't be over by the 19th," warned Johnson. "We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid.
"There's only one reason why we can contemplate going ahead... in circumstances where we'd normally be locking down further, that's because of the continuing effectiveness of the vaccine roll-out.
"We will move away from legal restrictions and allow people to make their own informed decisions," he said.
From WFH advice to nightclubs: England's reopening plan
'We must be honest with ourselves that if we can't reopen our society in the next few weeks ... when will we be able to return to normal?' Boris Johnson sets out England's five-point plan for Living With Covid, set to come into effect on 19 July | https://t.co/0qojf5Ksd4 pic.twitter.com/mI3TZmXD6G
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) July 5, 2021
Around 86% of British adults have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and 63% their second dose.
But the government's emphasis on personal judgment was met with concern by scientists, who worry that hospitals and medics could yet be stretched anew if the Delta variant runs amok or new strains emerge.
"Allowing people to make their own choices on this is, effectively, handing control of the safety of such spaces over to the least informed, least caring and indeed the most callous members of society," said Peter English, former chair of the British Medical Association Public Health Medicine Committee.
England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty said he would still wear a mask "in any situation which is indoors and crowded" or "if someone else is uncomfortable as a point of common courtesy".
And he hinted at possible tension between scientists and ministers, telling a news conference: "Ministers decide, advisers advise."
A snap YouGov poll, meanwhile, suggested that 71% of Britons believe face masks should continue to be mandatory on public transport.
Charities representing those with weakened immune systems have expressed dismay over face masks being made voluntary.
The MS Society and Blood Cancer UK said the Government had offered no support plan for those still vulnerable to Covid-19, and the day did not mark "freedom day" for many.
After Russia, Britain has the highest coronavirus death toll of any European country, at more than 128,000, but has been gradually transitioning out of its third lockdown imposed in January.
The remaining restrictions in England encompass requirements for social distancing and wearing masks indoors in public, bans on most outdoor large events, and guidance for people to work from home.
The government has already relaxed the ban on major events to allow 60,000 football fans to attend the semi-finals and final of the European Championship at London's Wembley stadium - two-thirds of its capacity.
The first semi-final is tomorrow and the England team play in the second one on Wednesday - although German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week told Mr Johnson that he was risking too much by permitting so many fans.
The UK government is meanwhile expected later this week to set out plans for fully vaccinated Britons to travel to "amber" countries, which includes most of Europe, without having to quarantine for 10 days on their return.
But Germany and other countries in Europe show no sign of relaxing their own rules to allow in unrestricted numbers of British holidaymakers this summer.
As a result, most Britons will have to remain content with vacationing at home, but will have the attraction of summer music festivals under the planned easing.
They can also anticipate an end to social distancing in pubs, the reopening of nightclubs, and the scrapping of a requirement to register their personal details every time they enter a pub or restaurant.
But businesses can still impose their own rules, and it remains to be seen whether operators of mass transit including Transport for London drop the wearing of masks on trains and buses.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own health policy and are moving more slowly.
'Risky' decision
The Head of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham has said "there's a reasonable consensus among the scientists that what's being announced today is a quite a risky thing to do".
Professor James McInerney told RTÉ's Drivetime that "the number of cases is skyrocketing, it's not being followed right now by numbers of deaths" but in the last seven days there were almost 200,000 cases in England, which is up 53% on the week before.
The number of patients admitted to hospital is up 24% on the week before, he said.
He said there has been an increase in cases and also hospital admissions and so they are going to see an increase in deaths.
A big experiment is being conducted in England at the moment, he added.
