No masks, other virus measures in England from July 19

LONDON • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has revealed plans to lift most of England's coronavirus restrictions, including face masks and social distancing, from July 19, urging personal responsibility rather than government edict.

Last month, Mr Johnson was forced to postpone plans for a full reopening on June 21 because of a surge in the highly contagious Delta variant, which now accounts for nearly all new British cases. But mass vaccinations have stopped that translating into a surge in hospital admissions or deaths.

"This pandemic is far from over," said Mr Johnson. "It certainly won't be over by the 19th. We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths."

But the effectiveness of the vaccination campaign meant that they could go ahead with easing restrictions, he said. "We will move away from legal restrictions and allow people to make their own informed decisions."

Mr Johnson's announcement only applies to England, as health matters are devolved to the UK's constituent nations. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are lifting their curbs more slowly.

In the United Kingdom, around 86 per cent of adults have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and 63 per cent their second dose. But not everyone has welcomed Mr Johnson's announcement.

England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty said he would still wear a mask indoors and in crowds. A snap YouGov poll suggested that 71 per cent of Britons believe face masks should continue to be mandatory on public transport.

And the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Mr Keir Starmer, said the government's decision "to throw off all protections" when infections were rising was reckless.

Britain has been gradually transitioning out of its third lockdown imposed in January. The government has already relaxed a ban on major events to allow 60,000 football fans to attend the semi-finals and final of the European Championship at London's Wembley stadium - at two-thirds of its capacity.

The first semi-final was yesterday and the England team play in the second one today, although German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week told Mr Johnson that he was risking too much by permitting so many fans.

Meanwhile, the British government is expected to set out plans later this week for fully vaccinated Britons to travel to "amber" countries, which include most of Europe, without the need to quarantine for 10 days on their return.

Britain's Health Minister Sajid Javid said yesterday the world can no longer think only about Covid-19 and ignore other critical health issues, economic problems and education challenges that have built up during the pandemic. "When I came into this department with a fresh set of eyes, it is shocking when you look at all the other health problems that have built up. Some seven million people have not come forward during the pandemic for help from the NHS with their health problems," Mr Javid told Sky News, referring to the National Health Service.

Mr Javid had said on Monday that the number of Covid-19 cases in Britain will rise significantly from currently levels. "It's important that we're straight with the British people: cases of Covid-19 are rising and they will continue to rise significantly. We can reasonably expect that by the 19th of July, the number of daily cases will be far higher than today," he told Parliament.

In a separate interview with the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Javid said that case numbers could reach as high as 100,000 cases per day by August.

Separately, Heathrow Airport is dusting off facilities that have been mothballed for over a year, as Europe's busiest airport prepares for a long-awaited surge in air traffic.

The hub reopened its second runway on Monday and plans to resume normal operations at Terminal 3 starting on July 15, a spokesman said.

Terminal 3 closed in May last year, around the same time that Heathrow began using just a single landing strip. Heathrow expects demand to increase "when ministers permit fully vaccinated passengers to travel more freely", it said in an e-mail.

With the reopening, three of Heathrow's four terminals will be fully functional, the spokesman said. The airport started using Terminal 3 to process arrivals from high-risk locations several weeks ago. Terminal 4 will take on the role for so-called red-list passengers, who are required to quarantine in a hotel.

Masks may still be a feature of air travel regardless of the British government's move to make them non-mandatory, said the Heathrow spokesman. Face coverings have helped airports cope with difficulties of social distancing, which will become tougher as they get busier, and will help restore confidence in air travel.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG.