As England braces for the removal of remaining coronavirus restrictions on Monday, top medics are pleading with the public not to take advantage of new freedoms to ditch social distancing and face-masks and to stick to the lockdown rules of “Hands, Face, Space”.
The plea came as a new poll for The Independent found that a majority (52 per cent) of Britons expect another lockdown before the end of the year, against just a third (33 per cent) believing the country will get to the end of 2021 without the reimposition of curbs.
More than half (54 per cent) said Boris Johnson should have delayed step 4 of his roadmap out of lockdown beyond 19 July, against just a third (33 per cent) who said he was right to go ahead. And Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said it was “not too late” for the PM to U-turn on the removal of mandatory mask-wearing in enclosed public places.
The vice-president of Warwick Medical School, Prof Lawrence Young, told The Independent that the decision to press ahead with step 4 at a time when infection rates are running above 50,000 a day was “frightening”.
“It’s like taking your seatbelt off while you’re speeding over 100 miles an hour on the motorway,” said Prof Young. “Removing all restrictions when daily case numbers are rapidly climbing and many people still not fully vaccinated is basically bonkers.”
Recommended Health secretary Sajid Javid tests positive for Covid Warnings of new autumn lockdown in ‘long drawn-out’ Covid wave Rishi Sunak facing probe over use of poverty statistics
The announcement of a beefed-up flu vaccination campaign this winter was an indication that ministers expect a “messy situation” with respiratory diseases later in the year, he said.
Recent days have seen the government back away from the prime minister’s earlier claims about the irreversibility of so-called Freedom Day, with minister Lucy Frazer confirming on Friday that further restrictions will be imposed if infections and hospitalisations reach “unacceptable” levels.
With businesses including nightclubs opening on Monday, work-from-home guidance relaxed and social distancing and face-coverings moving from a legal requirement to a question of personal responsibility, health secretary Sajid Javid – who himself tested positive on Saturday – has warned infections could swiftly reach 100,000 a day. Chief medical officer Chris Whitty said numbers could reach “scary” levels and England could “get into trouble again surprisingly fast”.
Scotland will also relax restrictions on Monday, but face-coverings will remain mandatory.
Far from celebrating “Freedom Day” by casting off all restraint, the new poll by Savanta ComRes suggests that a majority are concerned about the potential consequences of returning to mask-free social mixing.
Some 60 per cent of 2,137 people questioned for The Independent said they were “worried” about the removal of restrictions, including 23 per cent – almost a quarter of the population – who said they were “very worried”. Highest levels of concern were found among older people, but a majority in every age-group and region of the country said they were anxious about the move.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool
PA
UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a ￡7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe
PA
UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the world’s first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the ‘Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein’ experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July
PA
UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford
PA
UK news in pictures 12 July 2021 A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington in Manchester
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 11 July 2021 England's Bukayo Saka with manager Gareth Southgate after the match
Pool via Reuters
UK news in pictures 10 July 2021 Australia’s Ashleigh Barty holds the trophy after winning her final Wimbledon match against Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova
Reuters
UK news in pictures 9 July 2021 England 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst stands on top of a pod on the lastminute.com London Eye wearing a replica 1966 World Cup final kit and looking out towards Wembley Stadium in the north of the capital, where the England football team will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday
PA
UK news in pictures 8 July 2021 Karolina Pliskova celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka during the women's singles semifinals match on day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London
AP
UK news in pictures 7 July 2021 The residents of Towfield Court in Feltham have transformed their estate with England flags for the Euro 2020 tournament
PA
UK news in pictures 6 July 2021 A couple are hit by a wave as they walk along the promenade in Dover, Kent, during strong winds
PA
UK news in pictures 5 July 2021 Alexander Zverev playing against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round of the Gentlemen's Singles on Court 1 on day seven of Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
PA
UK news in pictures 4 July 2021 Aaron Carty and the Beyoncé Experience perform on stage during UK Black Pride at The Roundhouse in London
Getty for UK Black Pride
UK news in pictures 3 July 2021 England’s Jordan Henderson celebrates after scoring his first international goal, his side’s fourth against Ukraine during the Euro 2020 quarter final match at the Olympic stadium in Rome
AP
UK news in pictures 2 July 2021 Dan Evans serves against Sebastian Korda during their men’s singles third round match at Wimbledon
Getty
UK news in pictures 1 July 2021 Prince William, left and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London
AP
UK news in pictures 30 June 2021 Dancers from the Billingham Festival and Balbir Singh Dance Company, during a preview for the The Two Fridas, UK Summer tour, presented by Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance in collaboration with Balbir Singh Dance Company, inspired by the life and times of female artists Frida Kahlo and Amrita Sher-Gil , which opens on July 10 at Ushaw Historic House, Chapel and Gardens in Durham
PA
UK news in pictures 29 June 2021 A boy kicks a soccer ball in front of the balconies and landings adorned with predominantly England flags at the Kirby housing estate in London
AP
UK news in pictures 28 June 2021 Emergency services attend a fire nearby the Elephant & Castle Rail Station in London
Getty
UK news in pictures 27 June 2021 People walk along Regent Street in central London during a #FreedomToDance march organised by Save Our Scene, in protest against the government’s perceived disregard for the live music industry throughout the coronavirus pandemic
PA
UK news in pictures 26 June 2021 A pair of marchers in a Trans Pride rally share a smile in Soho
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
UK news in pictures 25 June 2021 Tim Duckworth during the Long Jump in the decathlon during day one of the Muller British Athletics Championships at Manchester Regional Arena
PA
UK news in pictures 24 June 2021 A member of staff poses with the work 'The Death of Cash' by XCopy at the 'CryptOGs: The Pioneers of NFT Art' auction at Bonhams auction house in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 23 June 2021 Bank of England Chief Cashier Sarah John displays the new 50-pound banknote at Daunt Books in London
Bank of England via Reuters
UK news in pictures 22 June 2021 Actor Isaac Hampstead Wright sits on the newly unveiled Game of Throne's "Iron Throne" statue, in Leicester Square, in London, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. The statue is the tenth to join the trail and commemorates 10 years since the TV show first aired, as well as in anticipation for HBO's release of House of the Dragon set to be released in 2022
AP
UK news in pictures 21 June 2021 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon receives her second dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 20 June 2021 Joyce Paton, from Peterhead, on one of the remaining snow patches on Meall a’Bhuiridh in Glencoe during the Midsummer Ski. The event, organised by the Glencoe Mountain Resort, is held every year on the weekend closest to the Summer Solstice
PA
UK news in pictures 19 June 2021 England appeal LBW during day four of their Women’s International Test match against India at the Bristol County Ground
PA
UK news in pictures 18 June 2021 Scotland fans let off flares in Leicester Square after Scotland's Euro 2020 match against England ended in a 0-0 draw
Getty
UK news in pictures 17 June 2021 Members of the Tootsie Rollers jazz band pose on the third day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meet
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 16 June 2021 A woman and child examine life-size sculptures of a herd of Asian elephants set up by the Elephant Family and The Real Elephant Collective to help educate the public on the elephants and the ways in which humans can better protect the planets biodiversity, in Green Park, central London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 15 June 2021 Hydrotherapists with Dixie, a seven-year-old Dachshund who is being treated for back problems common with the breed, in the hydrotherapy pool during a facility at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home's in Battersea, London, to view their new hydrotherapy centre
PA
UK news in pictures 14 June 2021 Scotland's David Marshall in the net after Czech Republic's Patrik Schick scored their second goal at Hampden Park
Reuters
UK news in pictures 13 June 2021 Raheem Sterling celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring England’s first goal of the Euro 2021 tournament in a match against Croatia at Wembley
Reuters
UK news in pictures 12 June 2021 Oxfam campaigners wearing costumes depicting G7 leaders pose for photographers on Swanpool Beach near Falmouth, Cornwall
EPA
UK news in pictures 11 June 2021 Members of the Vaxinol team, who are commercial, industrial and residential cleaners specialising in disinfection and decontamination, use electrostatic spray systems to deep clean the Only Fools Bar in Liverpool
PA
UK news in pictures 10 June 2021 A woman walks her dogs as the incoming tide begins to wash away the heads of G7 leaders drawn in the sand by activists on the beach at Newquay, Cornwall
AP
UK news in pictures 9 June 2021 Adam Chamberlain, 45, general manager of Big Tree pub in Sheffield, has put up over 500 flags, taking 36 hours, in preparation for Euro 2020, which kicks off this weekend
Tom Maddick / SWNS
UK news in pictures 8 June 2021
REUTERS
UK news in pictures 7 June 2021 A pedestrian wearing a face covering walks over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in central London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 6 June 2021 Isobel Salamon, founder of the Edinburgh Cinema Club, poses alongside the Leith Trainspotting murals in Quality Yard, Leith, Edinburgh, for the programme launch of the Cinescapes Festival which starts on July 4 with a Trainspotting 1 and 2 double bill
PA
UK news in pictures 5 June 2021 A long exposure photograph captures the rotation of the earth as the stars blur into circles over Knowlton church ruins in Dorset
Nick Lucas/SWNS
UK news in pictures 4 June 2021 Balloonists take flight during the opening of the Midlands Air Festival in Alcester, Warwickshire
PA
UK news in pictures 3 June 2021 Members of the Household Cavalry during the Major General's annual inspection of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Hyde Park, London
PA
UK news in pictures 2 June 2021 Hannah Vitos of the Blenheim Art Foundation, poses for a photograph next to artist Ai Weiwei's Gilded Cage (2017) sculpture in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Britain
Reuters
UK news in pictures 1 June 2021 People swim in the Sky Pool, a transparent swimming pool bridge across two exclusive residential blocks standing next to the US Embassy in Nine Elms, in London, Tuesday, June 1, 2021
AP
UK news in pictures 31 May 2021 People enjoy the hot weather at Brighton beach
Reuters
UK news in pictures 30 May 2021 People venture into the sea as they enjoy themselves during a hot day on Brighton Beach
AP
UK news in pictures 29 May 2021 Swimmers at the Stonehaven Open Air Pool in Aberdeenshire, which reopens after lockdown restrictions were eased
PA
UK news in pictures 28 May 2021 Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he meets Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Downing Street in London
REUTERS
An overwhelming 73 per cent said they would keep wearing face-coverings on public transport, 69 per cent in shops and 61 per cent in pubs and restaurants, while 45 per cent will do so outside.
The professor of intensive care at University College London, Hugh Montgomery, urged the public to maintain the protective measures in place during earlier phases of lockdown.
“The message that we ‘are back to normal’ makes no sense,” said Prof Montgomery.
“There is no ‘going back to 2019’. And now is not the time for allowing mass mixing in confined spaces, nor the absence of masks.
“The problem with shifting responsibility to the individual is that it isn’t only the people who ‘abandon all rules’ who may suffer – it is the others to whom the disease spreads. We also create an incubator for new variants. Long Covid is not something I’d wish to have, or that I’d wish on anyone else.
“So the message has to be, whatever the law, please stay in the open as much as one can when meeting, use masks when close to people, avoid confined spaces with many people in them and so forth. In other words, ‘Hands, Face, Space’ has to remain.”
The Hands Space Face campaign launched in August last year guides people to wash their hands frequently, wear face coverings in public places and maintain distance from people outside their household.
Prof Montgomery warned that huge numbers of people remain vulnerable to Covid-19, with a tenth of the adult population still to receive their first dose of vaccine and one-third waiting for the second, while there has been no routine vaccination for under-18s.
A proportion of double-jabbed adults will not receive adequate protection from the vaccine, and there are concerns that the immunity conferred on the UK’s oldest people by the first jabs in December may be starting to wane, he said.
Lifting restrictions at a time of rapidly rising infections “can only make things worse”, warned Prof Montgomery.
“The vaccine doesn’t stop one getting Covid,” he said. “Cases are on the very steep rise, and there has been a misunderstanding about the relationship between cases and hospitalisations. Hospitalisation lags five-plus days behind cases and deaths three-plus weeks in general.
“Currently, it seems that fully 2 per cent of cases are admitted to hospital. We had a quarter of a million cases in the last week. We are already now seeing 50,000 cases per day – the equivalent of 1.5m per month.
“The NHS is trying to cope with the backlog of other diseases. It is seeing a huge surge in ‘winter viruses’. And now Covid. The last two also make staff sick – so fewer staff to care for greater numbers of patients. So lifting restrictions when this is already happening can only make things worse.”
Prof Young said that as well as concerns about deaths and hospitalisations from the Delta variant and the threat of long Covid, the removal of restrictions heightened fears of the UK’s highly-infected population becoming a breeding ground for potentially dangerous new mutant strains.
And he said that 19 July would not be a Freedom Day for 3.8m clinically extremely vulnerable people, who may be forced to return to shielding as others drop protective measures.
“The worry is this is just going to allow the virus to spread and generate new variants that can be even more infectious than the Delta variant and also be able to escape vaccine protection,” he said. “That’s the biggest worry as people switch off their apps and think we’re back to normal. We’re not.
“I do feel that we need to continue with some restrictions and be cautious for a little bit longer. I hate to say it, but if all those horrible things come together, then it’s possible that we’ll end up having to go into some form of lockdown again.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “At a time when Covid infections are surging, Boris Johnson’s decision to remove all restrictions without mitigations like mask-wearing, working from home, isolation support and ventilation in place is reckless.
“There is still time for Boris Johnson to U-turn on this ‘throwing all caution to the wind’ escapade by following the scientific advice to maintain precautions such as mask-wearing.”
A government source said:“The vaccine programme and diligence of the public have got us to this point. But as the data on case numbers and hospitalisations show, the pandemic is not over.
“We need people to continue being vigilant, to ensure they’re thinking about others and doing things like wearing a face covering in confined spaces. That way we can can continue to protect the NHS and each other, and make the pathway out of this much easier.”