Boris Johnson announced the plan for easing restrictions on Monday, 22; the expectation is that the reopening will happen in stages
The population of UK prepares to celebrate the end of the lockdown and most of the restrictive measures, scheduled for June 21. At least that is the expectation of the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which announced its flexibilization plan on Monday, 22. Although it is cautious and time-consuming planning, the proposal is considered as a reflection of the success of the vaccination. Even with a positive announcement, the expectation of the reopening plan was enormous and the level of caution frustrated many people for its slowness. Bars and pubs, for example, will only reopen after Easter, with April 12 being the magic date for non-essential commerce.
Conservative parliamentarians criticized the cautious stance, arguing that the economy has already suffered considerably from the three periods of restrictions adopted throughout the pandemic, and this government decision to space out both the process of reopening, especially considering the fast pace of immunization. Currently, the expectation is that by the end of April the entire population over 50 has already been vaccinated, which should reduce deaths from Covid-19 up to 99%. Even in this context, Boris Johnson opted for the cautious approach so that, in his words, “the measures are irreversible”. In the United Kingdom, the vaccination plan is already approaching the mark of one third of the population with access to the first dose of immunizers against the coronavirus. Even so, records of daily deaths and new contamination remain high, which contributes to the caution of the Boris Johnson government.
