Boris Johnson has been accused of sending mixed messages after confirming the end of lockdown restrictions in England next Monday while urging people not to indulge in a great jubilee of freedom from any kind of caution and restraint.
In an announcement which was far from the long-anticipated declaration of Freedom Day, Mr Johnson cautioned that life cannot simply go back to normal on 19 July, warning: This pandemic is not over.
While legal requirements on the use of face-coverings and social distancing will be lifted, people will be expected to keep using them in enclosed public spaces, such as on buses and trains. And while the government is dropping instructions to work from home where possible, Mr Johnson said he did not expect a rush back to the office on Monday, calling for a gradual return to work over the summer.
There was confusion over whether pubs and restaurants could be caught in a voluntary scheme for nightclubs and other large venues to check revellers’ Covid status before admission.
Official guidance said only that new Covid pass checks, using the NHS app to determine vaccine and test status, would be encouraged in large, crowded settings where people are likely to be in close proximity to others outside their household, prompting the head of the British Beer and Pub Association to warn that this must not be used to impose vaccine passports on drinkers by the back door.
Labour accused the government of taking a high-risk, indeed fatalistic approach at a time when daily coronavirus infections are running at 35,000 and are expected to reach 100,000 within weeks.
Instead of the cautious approach the prime minister has promised to follow, Mr Johnson and Mr Javid are pushing (their) foot down on the accelerator while throwing the seat belts off”, said shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth.
And the authors of a letter to The Lancet branding the government’s plans a dangerous experiment, which has now been signed by 1,000 scientists and medics, accused Mr Johnson of pursuing a policy of herd immunity through mass infection.