UK all set to lift facemask, social distancing rules from July 19: Asks public to take care of themselves

London July 6: Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday revealed plans to lift most of England’s legal coronavirus restrictions, including face masks and social distancing from July 19, urging personal responsibility rather than government edict.

Johnson had initially aimed for a full reopening on June 21, but was forced to push back the date because of a surge in the highly contagious Delta variant. That variant now accounts for nearly all new Covid-19 cases in Britain, and infection rates have soared, sparking concern. But mass vaccinations have stopped a resultant surge in hospital admissions or deaths.

“This pandemic is far from over, it certainly won’t be over by the 19th,” warned Johnson. “We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid.”

“There’s only one reason why we can contemplate going ahead… in circumstances where we’d normally be locking down further, that’s because of the continuing effectiveness of the vaccine rollout.

“We will move away from legal restrictions and allow people to make their own informed decisions,” he said.

Around 86 percent of British adults have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and 63 percent their second dose.

But the government’s emphasis on personal judgment was met with concern by scientists, who worry that hospitals and medics could yet be stretched anew if the Delta variant runs amok or new strains emerge.