It has been a month since the UK’s controversial Freedom Day when the Boris Johnson-led Conservative government threw open the doors despite thousands of daily cases and 4000 scientists urging them not to. Driven by high vaccination rates, rules were cast aside in favour of reigniting the economy. Sports stadiums reopened to maximum capacity, as did nightclubs. Mandatory mask rules were left behind, too. More than 4200 scientists from across numerous fields wrote a letter to the Lancet medical journal warning about the “dangerous and premature” decision that was being made.
“The UK Government must reconsider its current strategy and take urgent steps to protect the public, including children. We believe the government is embarking on a dangerous and unethical experiment, and we call on it to pause plans to abandon mitigations on July 19, 2021,” they wrote. “Instead, the government should delay complete reopening until everyone, including adolescents, have been offered vaccination and uptake is high, and until mitigation measures, especially adequate ventilation and spacing are in place in schools.
“Until then, public health measures must include those called for by WHO (universal mask wearing in indoor spaces, even for those vaccinated).” One month on – and as Australia eyes a similar relaxing of rules when states reach 80 per cent of the population receiving two Covid-19 vaccines – some results are in. More than 800 patients are ending up hospital with Covid-19 every day and roughly 90 people are dying from the virus. Good vaccination coverage means that number is well below the peak of the pandemic in the UK where the death rate topped 1300 a day.
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