British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delayed the country’s final step out of lockdown by four weeks to July 19th, the decision he said, will save hundreds of thousands of lives in England. Previously, the country was said to lift all restrictions on social contact next Monday i.e June 21, which was dubbed as Freedom Day in England. Now the country has a bit of a wait until they can completely get back to normal. The decision was made after many deliberations that led them to conclude that by speeding up the vaccination drive in the next few weeks, almost two-thirds of the adult population will be vaccinated in the country.
“I think it is sensible to wait just a little longer,” he said. “Now is the time to ease off the accelerator, because by being cautious now we have the chance in the next four weeks to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions of more people.”
This declaration didn’t bring good tidings to many businesses, particularly those in hospitality and entertainment. They voiced their disappointment about the government not sticking to their earlier convictions of opening up the country by next Monday, which was dubbed by the British Media as “Freedom Day.”
So What is Freedom Day?
“Freedom Day” is the name assigned by the British media to the day that will end all restrictions of the Covid-19 lockdown and signal a return to “normal” life. The third Covid-19 lockdown was announced in England several months ago. These restrictions were gradually easing through various steps suggested by the government as the country saw a decline in rates of infections and an increase in vaccination drives.
What were the stages of easing the lockdown?
The ease in restrictions took place in various stages suggested by the government. The country was currently under stage 3 of lockdown where the hospitality Industry was already getting back to business with minimum capacity.
The fourth and final stage of the plan was said to take place next Monday. This would have seen an end to all the rules of social contact by reopening remaining places such as nightclubs in the country.
(The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Jun 17, 2021 04:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).
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