By Elli Collins
COVID-19 has had huge impacts on everyone’s lives since the last lockdown last year in March 2020. Since then, there has been one lockdown in May 2020, and November 2020, continuing into 2021. The government put a ‘Stay at Home’ restriction to try and prevent spread, and also closed schools, universities, shops, hotels, the borders, and more.
In 2021, half of the population has already had one vaccine, causing restrictions to ease, and Boris Johnson said that all restrictions could be lifted on June 21st.
But then he changed his mind.
All Covid restrictions will be lifted by July 19, the prime minster said today, despite a rise in deaths that some say could derail his plans. He also said that all adults who want to book a vaccination will be able to do so by the end of this week, which should help him achieve his deadline.
According to an article by inews, the restrictions supposed to be lifted on June 21st were all legal limits on social contact. That meant that there would be no more restrictions on how many people you could meet indoors, that nightclubs and music venues would reopen, and that events could take place without limited crowds.
Despite the proposed lifting there would still be social distancing measures in place, and masks would still be mandatory in some public places.
Yes or no?
Was the government right in not lifting these restrictions? You could look at it from both ways. Yes, half the population has had their first vaccine, but that isn’t really a lot when you think about it, especially with the Delta variant of the virus spreading globally.
“I think the government should start easing the restrictions on the date they said in the first place,” said 47-year-old Maria Carmichael sales assistant in Asda. “Most people are now vaccinated, either with one dose or two, so why should we not be able to enjoy the summer?
“The vaccine is there to protect us, so, if most people have it, it shouldn’t be as harmful to them like it would if they didn’t have it. I’ve had both my doses and feel comfortable to go to a rave, or a club, and I feel like most people feel the same as me.”
According to the BBC, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said earlier that June 21st was a “not before” date to end restrictions and that No 10 “would look at the data”.
“The Delta variant first seen in India was about 40% more transmissible than the Alpha (Kent) strain,” he said, adding that the new variant is making the decision to ease the restrictions “more challenging” as it is so easily transmitted from person to person.
Recent rise in Covid deaths
The number of Covid deaths has decreased since the pandemic started last March. The current average of daily Covid deaths is 7.9, according to the Telegraph.
The figures aren’t always actual deaths from Covid – many of the deaths including in the statistic actually die of other causes – anyone who dies within 28 days of a positive death is counted, whether they died from Covid, from a car accident, or from anything else.
Recently, however, the number of deaths has started to rise again, and infections have risen sharply. Some modellers believe that the rise could reach up to 1,000 daily hospital admissions sometime this summer, the BBC reported.
Some are quick to point out the that rise could be – at least in part – due to the reluctance of some to get vacciniated.
“Crucially, the Government’s measure for vaccine effectiveness in determining whether to ease restrictions on June 21 is that they must be sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated – and the evidence overwhelmingly shows that the vast majority of people going into hospital have not been jabbed either through choice or because they are too young,” the Telegraph article said
Business worries
It’s not just people not being vaccinated that’s an issue, it’s also business owners not wanting to open up in case of another lockdown.
Event planner James Harrison, 35, said before the government announcement: “After June 21st, I can start planning events again for clubs, and music festivals. With the new variant, and the constant scaremongering of another lockdown, or another wave, it just doesn’t feel worth it to reopen my business.
“Sure, I’m missing out on money and clients, but opening now and then having to close again would feel more like a loss than opening when I officially can, with no worry or panic.”
What will happen now?
According to an article by Sky News, scientists asked to put a stop to lifting all restrictions in a few weeks, due to the new variant, which led to the government “drawing up other options.”
The article states that government officials have made it clear that Boris Johnson would “rather make tweaks than push back the date – but that delaying is an option still on the table”.
However, Dr Julian Tang thinks that the final step to freedom should be delayed as the virus is “multiplying quickly”.
“Outbreaks start small, they have to, and they get bigger more and more quickly, clearly the virus is ramping up and you’re getting into the realms of a third wave.
“If you open up completely, you’re going to see bigger surges of what we see now – despite increased vaccinations and surge testing, cases are still rising in hotspots which must mean it’s rising elsewhere.”
“If you open everything up, you’ll see a bigger surge, then the government will panic and shut everything down again,” he said.
Other scientists are asking to pause step four totally, and review the current restrictions in place, keeping everything normal until “at least schools have finished for summer.”
In the article, Virologist Dr Stephen Griffin said: “The government said four tests have to be passed to allow each stage of the lockdown to be eased, including that a new variant should not cause concern that it would change the strategy.
“It is a worryingly common misconception that younger people do not become seriously unwell from COVID, and with the Indian variant being more transmissible more people could be hospitalised, putting tremendous pressure on the NHS. The government should review the current restrictions, so the vaccination schedule lines up with falling cases, as Israel did.”
So, with the new variant spreading like wildfire, it could be a fair few weeks until the UK is able to reach that last step to freedom.
“I think it’s a good idea for step four to be delayed for a while,” 65-year-old Betty Hill, retired primary school teacher said. “Once clubs open, all the young people will be going out all the time, in non-social distanced settings. Most of them haven’t been vaccinated, or have only had one, making them either an easy target to the virus, or a carrier. Then they’re coming to see people the same age as me and older, their grandparents and spreading it.
“I’ve had two jabs, but that doesn’t mean I feel safe or protected at all. I could still catch the virus, and I don’t want to put myself in that kind of position, just because my grandchildren want to go clubbing.”
The way things stand now, we may need to put our dancing shoes, festival glitter and clubbing outfits away for at least a few more weeks.
Take my quiz to give your opinion on the Covid restrictions being lifted!
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