The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is currently spreading rapidly in Great Britain. Nevertheless, the British government is determined to stick to its easing plans. Yesterday the extensive lifting of the mask requirement for England was announced.
Protective masks, which are currently still mandatory in shops as well as buses and trains, would soon become a “personal decision,” said housing minister Robert Jenrick the channel “Sky News”. “Different people will make different decisions about things like masks,” said the minister.
“This will make the country freer”
The end of the mask requirement is part of a comprehensive lifting of corona measures on July 19, which the British government wants to present in the next few days. This includes the lifting of all contact restrictions, but also the reopening of clubs.
The new health minister Sajid Javid has defended the easing planned for England despite rising corona numbers and appealed to citizens to take responsibility. The country could not only “become freer but also healthier”, wrote Javid in a guest post for the “Mail on Sunday”. He was alluding to the stress on the mental health of many people.
The highly contagious delta variant is currently causing the number of corona cases in Great Britain to skyrocket again, the incidence is just under 200. However, the number of hospital admissions and deaths is not increasing to the same extent as in previous waves. The government is therefore relying fully on the effectiveness of the vaccinations and hopes that they will prevent the disease from progressing as much as possible.
Experts such as Christina Pagel from University College London, who also sits on a government advisory body, warn against this. “This is a terrible plan. It looks like we’ll be the only country to throw everything against the vaccine wall and hope it will hold up,” she wrote on Twitter.
60.000 im Wembley-Stadion
The British government is also facing severe criticism in connection with the current European football championship. Both the semi-finals on July 6th and 7th as well as the final on July 11th will take place at Wembley Stadium in the British capital, London – 60,000 fans are allowed into the stadium for each of the three football matches – without any significant gaps.
