United Kingdom The British Secretary of Health, in quarantine after contracting Covid
Covid Johnson, in isolation after being considered close contact
The British Government continues with its plans to lift the last restrictions on the so-called "Freedom Day" of July 19, despite the chaos that has seized in the last hours of Downing Street, with the "positive" of the secretary of Health, Sajid Javid, who has forced the quarantine of half a cabinet, including Boris Johnson himself.
The
premier
has not only had to cancel the speech with
Churchillian
references
that he had planned for Monday, but he will also have to
isolate himself for several days
after receiving the notice of the controversial application of the Covid that has millions of British confined (and that is creating serious shortage problems on the London Underground, airports and factories).
Johnson is also facing increasing pressure from the medical establishment not to lift the restrictions, following an alarming increase in cases in the last two weeks:
54,674 cases, 740 hospitalizations and 41 deaths
in the last 24 hours.
And all this despite the fact that more than 35 million Britons (68% of the adult population) have already been vaccinated with a full schedule, like Sajid Javid himself, who received both doses of AstraZeneca.
Despite growing doubts about the effectiveness of vaccines against the Delta variant of the virus, which causes most of the new cases,
Javid has urged the British to continue vaccinating
and has assured that the symptoms of Covid are "much more mild "(as in his case) among the vaccinated population.
A recent study by King's College and the ZOE company has warned that up to 47% of new infections are occurring among the population that has received one or two doses.
More than 1,200 scientists have asked the
premier
, in a letter written to
The Lancet,
to rectify his decision to lift almost all restrictions and
not subject the British to "a dangerous experiment"
, comparable to the questioned strategy of "immunity group "at the beginning of the pandemic.
The British Government plans on Monday to
lift the mandatory nature of the mask in places
and in public transport, although its use will be "recommended". On that day, the restrictions for indoor group meetings will be lifted, the stadiums are allowed to reopen to full capacity, and
the discotheques and nightclubs even open their doors
after 16 months of "lockdown".
Boris Johnson planned to proclaim "Freedom Day" with a speech packed with references to Churchill and in a place of high historical significance.
Their plans fell apart over the weekend following a barrage of new cases over the weekend and positive from Javid, who has acknowledged that the country
can be put in 100,000 cases a day this summer
.
The arrival of Javid to the Secretary of Health, replacing
Matt Hancock
, has caused the turn of strategy of Johnson, who has made an appeal to the "individual responsibility" of the British in this new and uncertain phase.
Monday is also the day that the Balearic Islands are no longer on the green list to join the amber list like the rest of Spain.
The move has caused a
stampede of returning British tourists
and threatens to wreak havoc at airports.
Despite the fact that those vaccinated with a full schedule will be able to evade the quarantine on their return from Monday (except in the controversial case of France),
the color change for the Balearic Islands has been a setback for the tourism sector
and for the airlines.
The favorite destination for the British this summer will be Croatia, which has just entered the green list, although the decision will be reviewed in three weeks.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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