People on a dance floor in London shortly after the Freedom Day reopening on Monday.Credit...Alberto Pezzali/Associated Press
THE NEW YORK TIMES: England, we are told, is free.
On Monday the government lifted the country’s remaining Covid restrictions — on social distancing, on face masks, on numbers for gatherings, the lot — effectively leaving protection from the coronavirus to vaccinations and, er, the goddess of chance. (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the devolved nations, have sensibly chosen to retain some restrictions.)
The timing was immaculate: Over the previous week,
332,170 people tested positive for the coronavirus — the most since January — as the Delta variant courses around the country. New Covid-19 cases are expected to rise, perhaps reaching the dizzying figure of
100,000 a day later in the summer. The number hospitalized, much lower than in previous waves of infections because of the vaccination program, is steadily increasing. Deaths are creeping up.
Details, details. This was Freedom Day, as the government and the right-wing press insistently reminded us. The time when the English, after more than a year of sacrifices, could let it all out — drink in a crowded room, go clubbing, have everyone over. No need for masks. But really, it was Confusion Day, a monument to chaos, anxiety and the unknown. We have no plan.
» | Tanya Gold * | Tuesday, July 20, 2021
* Ms. Gold is a British journalist who writes regularly about the country’s politics, culture and everyday life.
Flambée de cas de Covid au Royaume-Uni : la peur du chaos »
