Boris Announces 19th July Will Be Freedom Day… Probably

Wait up, so has the pandemic ended?

Errrr, no. It’s actually getting worse…

Say what?

Boris’s freedom flourish was followed immediately by a determinedly dour assessment from Sir Patrick. We are in the grip of a third wave that’s going to get significantly worse before it gets better.

Look, I’m no epidemiologist, but…

So the good news is that while the covid numbers soar, the effect of the disease is severely blunted. Hospitalisations are rising far more slowly than they did in every other wave and deaths are going up even more slowly.

Which proves that the vaccinations really are having an effect, in preventing hospitalisation and, even more so, preventing death.

So shouldn’t we wait until everyone’s double-vaxxed before we hit Crazy Larry’s?

I’m pretty sure Crazy Larry’s closed, like, a decade ago…

Shut up. Why now?

Even with our world-beating vaccine roll-out, it’s currently predicted that the UK will be fully jabbed by around September.

I’m pretty sure Crazy Larry’s closed, like, a decade ago…

There are a couple of problems with waiting until this happens. Firstly, and the one that’s principally concerning Boris and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the economy needs to reopen fully, we’ve racked up considerable debt and we need to get the cogs whirring like crazy to start paying it all back.

This is a health crisis, not an economic one

Not quite true, we’ve just gone through the worst crash in history, we were just too busy dealing with the pandemic to notice. But health-wise, it’s also worth pointing out the cost of continued measures on mental health, plus all the medical issues which aren’t being dealt and have backlogged since the pandemic began.

Chris Whitty yesterday said he was won over by the argument that September marks the start of the flu season. Many of the people who will get seriously ill or die from covid will get seriously ill or die whenever the restrictions are lifted, and if we delay the peak of the third wave until autumn then we risk a perfect storm of flu season and covid season joining forces. September is also when all the children, who aren’t currently vaccinated, go back to school and super spread the thing.

I mean, I’m not going to argue with Chris Whitty, but it still feels a bit dodge…

Interestingly Boris left the door wide open for a flip flop. This government u-turns so adeptly that they must have one of those London black cabs with the specially tight turning circle. And the PM’s announcement was actually a pre-announcement.

I’m not following

So Boris announced that measures would end on 19th July, but that the final decision would not be taken until 12th July, next Monday. On this date the scientists will pore over the data and make a final decision.

And it’s hard to see the numbers getting better between now and Monday…

Oh, another thing, what about new variants? It seems flipping stupid to let a deadly virus rip through society and, y’know, mutate its way past the vaccine or worse, into something that’s deadly to children…

Hmm, well you’re right, that is a worry. But it’s a worry anyway, right, regardless of when we open up?

Boris made the point that if we wait until September then we’ll end up delaying all the way until 2022 because there will never be an optimal time to open up and the good weather of summer and the ‘firebreak’ of school hols mean that the current wave should pass relatively quickly if we do it now.

And whenever we do, assuming kids aren’t vaccinated, the concerns will be the same. The latest variants have all been beaten by the vaccine, and the government’s scientists are looking hard at the effects of vaccines in children.

Okay, we’re 800 words in and you’ve not actually told me what’s changing on the 19th

Fair. So the plan is that nearly all restrictions will go. That’s social distancing requirements, mandatory table service in restaurants, standing in pubs, the rule-of-six, restrictions around large gatherings outdoors, like music festivals, all of that will be jettisoned.

The government will say that you need a mask in certain places (hospitals, for instance) and the red list will continue to protect us against nasty variants from outside. But even then, we’ll be able to travel more freely if we’re double jabbed, without the requirement to spend ages in isolation.

And masks?

Oh yes, and masks will no longer be necessary.

No masks. Anywhere?

And this is Boris’s point. The government isn’t banning masks. They’re not outlawing social distancing. Businesses can ask to see your vaccine pass (it’s in your NHS app, in case you didn’t realise), we can choose to wear a mask at all times if we like, indeed Chris Whitty pointed out that it’s common courtesy to wear one if not doing so would make someone feel uncomfortable, but from 19th July the government will not be getting involved in those choices.

Perhaps the extraordinary thing is that we’ve gone through so many flu seasons without self-determining to wear masks or create space. The government wants to spur on a nation of responsible, autonomous, community spirited citizens.

Hmmm

Yeah, I know…