UK’s Freedom Day tainted by growing infections and PM’s self-isolation

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ‘Freedom Day’ has reportedly been ruined by forced self-isolation, rising COVID-19 infections, and warnings of shortages in supermarkets.

For the record, England has had strict lockdowns since the past year owing to the growing number of infections. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had earlier stated that these restrictions will be removed on 19th June after the majority of the population is vaccinated against the Coronavirus.

As promised, laws that ordered people to wear masks in stores and other indoor settings were repealed. Moreover, capacity limits in restaurants & bars and rules that limited the number of people allowed to socialize were also removed.

In this context, the Prime Minister claimed that this is the right time to remove these restrictions and start living a normal life. He further added that people should do this cautiously while remembering that Coronavirus is still affecting people.

However, a National Health Service app pinged millions of people to self-isolate in their homes to be safe amid increasing infections. This resulted in a shortage of workers for many businesses which in turn prompted decreased operational hours. The notifications also warned people that supermarket shelves may soon be emptied.

Experts have claimed that if vaccines succeed in decreasing hospitalization rates as well as the number of COVID-related deaths, the Prime Minister’s initiative will pave a path out of the worst public health crisis in the United Kingdom.

Although 87% of Britain’s populace has completed at least one dose of the vaccine, and 68% are completely vaccinated, the country has recorded 48,161 new cases on 18 July, with a death toll of 128,708 people which is the seventh-highest worldwide.

As a result, while the Prime Minister of the UK has decided to remove social restrictions, people have a mixed opinion regarding this decision. While some are in favor of tough rules, others want them to be removed.

Source Credits—

https://news.trust.org/item/20210719063720-2xwih/