UK easing raises concerns amid a surge in cases

Health secretary calls on the public to learn to live with novel coronavirus

The British government's intention to ease social restrictions and open up the economy on July 19 is causing concern amid an escalation in COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom.

British media reports indicate Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to announce the end of quarantine for those with two vaccinations, and to end legal requirements on the use of face masks.

But there have been demands for clarity on how the government plans to manage the competing demands of schools, businesses, and the National Health Service, if the policy changes are implemented as expected.

It is understood the school "bubbles" system that has meant hundreds of thousands of pupils being forced to self-isolate at home will be axed and replaced with daily testing, but teachers are warning of a chaotic situation with the surge in cases.

Hospitality businesses will no longer have to demand that customers provide their personal data or sign in with a QR code, and Britons will be able to travel to popular holiday destinations, such as Spain and Greece, without having to self-isolate when they return.

Quoted in The Guardian, Labour Party member of Parliament Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, warned that the government had "failed to outline a credible plan to push cases down". He added: "Vaccination is immensely effective, but we also need proper isolation support to break transmission."

Government minister Robert Jenrick told the BBC's Andrew Marr on Sunday that policy will change on July 19 so that people in England have to exercise more "personal responsibility".

Jenrick, the housing secretary, said: "It does look as if — thanks to the success of the vaccine program — that we now have the scope to roll back those restrictions and return to a normality as far as possible."

However, he warned that cases might continue to rise significantly as restrictions are eased.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said easing COVID-19 restrictions will improve the economy and the health of the nation. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Javid said England remains on track for a relaxation for the rules on July 19.

He said: "The economic arguments for opening-up are well known, but for me, the health arguments are equally compelling."

He wrote that the government "must be honest with people", and that COVID-19 "cannot be eliminated". He said that a "broad and balanced view" must be taken as the vaccination program means far fewer people die.

"We are going to have to learn to accept the existence of COVID and find ways to cope with it — just as we already do with flu," he said.

Government data showed that 45.1 million people have had a first dose of a vaccine and 33.4 million have had two.

The UK recorded 24,885 COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths within 28 days of a positive test on Saturday, though Reuters reported that a rapid vaccination program appears to have weakened the link between infections and deaths.

Chaand Nagpaul, the British Medical Association council chairman, called the jump in cases "alarming", and urged the continued use of face masks.

"It makes no sense to remove restrictions in their entirety in just over two weeks' time," Nagpaul said, as quoted by the BBC.

Leading scientist James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute in Oxford, was quoted by The Guardian as saying that the nation was already in a "third wave", but added that "vaccinations and time" will eventually end the surge.

He said: "The Delta variant is still growing despite track and trace, despite testing, despite restrictions and despite masking, and unless you are lucky or extremely careful, we are all going to be exposed to Delta. And since track and trace has failed to hold back Delta in the UK, it is unclear whether its retention has any value to public health, particularly given current vaccination rates."

Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious disease at the University of Edinburgh, told The Guardian that the government's contact tracing system means any escalation in cases could still cause disruption this summer.

He said: "At present, we still have a tracing system where contacts have to self-isolate. If for every case, you're asking five or maybe even 10 people to self-isolate, the disruption caused by a big wave will be massive. So the government may well have to think about their policy regarding contacts, for that reason."