TOO SOON?

Boris Johnson Announces Plan to Drop COVID-19 Restrictions on July 19

The British Prime Minister’s decision comes amid growing scrutiny from health experts who fear a surge in the highly transmissible Delta variant.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his intention to scrap the country’s COVID-19 rules on July 19. “We must be honest with ourselves that if we can’t reopen our society in the next few weeks, when we will be helped by the arrival of summer, and by the school holidays, we must ask ourselves, when will we be able to return to normal?,” Johnson said. The rules would allow those who are fully vaccinated to return to pre-pandemic activities such as drinking at bars as well as the ability to go without masks. The decision places to onus on businesses and individuals to enforce rules as they see fit rather than adhering to rules from Downing Street. The United Kingdom reported 27,334 cases of COVID-19 and nine additional deaths on Monday, The Guardian reports. Medical experts have voiced concerns about the UK’s decision as the Delta variant of COVID-19 has continued to surge in Europe.