concerns around “an extremely risky strategy”

“Freedom Day” in England. The restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic are removed from Monday across the Channel, confirmed Boris Johnson, preferring to rely on the “individual responsibility” of each. A political bet while contaminations have skyrocketed for weeks in the United Kingdom. The country is the most affected in Europe in number of cases and has exceeded 50,000 new daily contaminations two days in a row. In a video posted on Twitter on Sunday, Boris Johnson nevertheless called on the population to take action, stressing the “extreme contagiousness” of the Delta variant. “Please be careful,” he implored.

A “risky” strategy

To make this decision, the British leader is relying on the success of a vaccination campaign carried out vigorously since December – more than two thirds of fully vaccinated adults – which has “strongly weakened” the link between illness, hospitalizations and death, enabling the public health system to cope.

The decision, however, raises concerns on English soil. Nearly 1,200 scientists and doctors have written to the government calling the lifting of restrictions “dangerous and immoral experimentation.” Among them is Professor Sir David King, former government science adviser. He worries about the 50% of Britons not yet fully vaccinated. “This will certainly give rise to a new wave of deaths, but what worries us a lot is especially the long Covid”, he underlines. “This is a serious problem because those who have it face the consequences for their entire lives. It is an extremely risky strategy.”

Relaxation of borders and end of the compulsory mask

Since midnight, auditoriums and stadiums can reopen at full capacity, discotheques can once again welcome the public, bar service is again possible in pubs and there is no longer any limit to the number of people allowed to visit. to gather. The mask is no longer compulsory but recommended in transport and shops. A measure that particularly worries Rebecca, suffering from a degenerative disease. Even vaccinated, she risks complications in the event of infections. “If some people don’t wear masks, then everyone is more at risk. It means I won’t see my friends or family anymore. I’m just going to go to the park with my husband like we’re confined again. “, she laments.

There are currently some 550 Covid-19 patients in intensive care in the United Kingdom compared to more than 4,000 at the peak of the second wave in January. In addition to the contaminations, millions of people, in case of contact, were asked to stay at home for ten days. To prevent health services from facing understaffing, the government has announced that in England fully vaccinated caregivers who are identified as contact cases could now go to their workplaces where they will be screened daily instead. than to observe strict isolation among them.

At the borders, an easing also comes into force on Monday. People fully vaccinated in the UK and coming from countries classified as “orange”, including many tourist destinations like Italy or Spain, will no longer need to observe quarantine on arrival in England. France is however an exception because of the “persistent presence” of cases of the Beta variant, which worries the government because of its resistance to the AstraZeneca vaccine, widely used in the United Kingdom.