please empty your brain below
I don't take a position at either extreme, but I tend to prioritise freedom from worrying that people who are not taking precautions might give me the virus, even two vaccinations in, over the freedom to no longer take precautions.

Chris in E6 | 06.07.21 - 7:11 a.m. | #

Far too early given rising cases.

And a friend of mine who had his second jab at the end of May tested positive yesterday.

Regards

zin92 | 06.07.21 - 7:28 a.m. | #

What’s wrong with asking people to wear a mask in shops and public transport?

RogerB | 06.07.21 - 7:29 a.m. | #

Cases are shooting up. Hospitalisations are up markedly and deaths are slowly creeping up, both from a low base. The measures we are already taking, on top of vaccination, are demonstrably inadequate so why would we relax further?

The risk of hospitalisations continuing to rise and reaching levels that threaten the NHS, the risk of vaccine resistant variants emerging, the risks to those not fully vaccinated, the partial protection offered by vaccination, the risk of vaccination protection waning over time, the significant risk of long COVID. Just no.

Andrew | 06.07.21 - 8:05 a.m. | #

Numbers are going up, and I suspect we will have to lockdown again fully at some point, and sooner rather than later. I work in a hospital so I will be able to see whether case numbers rise beyond what the NHS can cope with.

Jonathan | 06.07.21 - 8:06 a.m. | #

I agree with the above.

Thanks to the growing risk of infection, we can now only attend our daughter's wedding ceremony (11 attendees), because even staying for lunch afterwards is too risky for my CEV husband.

It would be nice to have a government that prioritised the welfare of its citizens, not personal gain.

RosemaryT | 06.07.21 - 8:15 a.m. | #

I think this is far too soon and I agree totally with RosemaryT's final point.

ganching | Homepage | 06.07.21 - 8:25 a.m. | #

Too soon. Give it another year.

MKIan | 06.07.21 - 9:04 a.m. | #

Much too soon with cases still rising.
Also agree with Rosemary.

Christopher Speiser | 06.07.21 - 9:32 a.m. | #

I think more evidence should be taken given the rising cases and hospitalisations.

However, the situation is nuanced and I understand how others can come to a different conclusion - particularly as Covid is simply one part (albeit a very significant part) of a multi-faceted picture of healthcare, social and financial implications.

Messiah | 06.07.21 - 9:36 a.m. | #

Too early. Although the hospitalisations and death rates are considerably better than earlier this year, there are still too many people our there unvaccinated. The world will be watching the UK with great interest to see how this experiment works.

Jo | 06.07.21 - 9:59 a.m. | #

Omega variant, here we come...

Harry Harrison | 06.07.21 - 12:57 p.m. | #

Too cavalier. Keeping restrictions on masks would have been easy but not play well with libertarian tendency. I shall be increasing my personal restrictions in order to accommodate the free for all that is about to ensue.

Mel | 06.07.21 - 2:13 p.m. | #

Much as I dislike all the Covid paraphernalia of everyday life (and I mostly stay at home to avoid it) this sudden wholesale shifting of responsibility onto individuals is scary from a number of angles. One significant reason for thinking this is a Bad Idea is that it will lead to another total lockdown further down the line and thus be counterproductive even in its own terms. If the govt reckons certain measures are still necessary it should be enforcing them, otherwise we end up with a classic collective action problem in which the weakest will suffer the most. It seems to me that a more measured, gradual and monitored lifting of restrictions would have made more sense.

Sarah | Homepage | 06.07.21 - 2:13 p.m. | #

A risk too far. The Government are gambling everything on the vaccine rollout being bombproof, without giving it sufficient time to see the ramifications of the skyrocketing Delta variant cases.

I can understand the need to get the economy going again, but I fail to see what adverse effect the continued wearing of masks on public transport or in shops would have on the economy.

People have the personal choice if they decide they want to go to the theatre, a nightclub or a crowded pub, but people have to buy food and use public transport.

Richard | 06.07.21 - 2:16 p.m. | #

I think it's a bad idea but I don't think he had any choice - people's patience about rules which have to be followed by the plebs but not by those in government (G7, Cummings, Hancock) is wearing thin.

Nails UK | 06.07.21 - 4:49 p.m. | #

Terrible idea. There will be another lockdown, when other countries don't need to.

R2 | 06.07.21 - 5:02 p.m. | #

The more infections, the more likely it is that the virus will mutate, and the more likely it is that it will be impervious to the vaccine. Making a decision based on nothing but ideology is effectively chucking everyone in the country under a bus and accepting that a certain level of misery and suffering is perfectly acceptable for the British people.

Scott | Homepage | 06.07.21 - 7:10 p.m. | #

Coming to this late but I just wanted to add the fact that in the history of this country I cannot think of another occasion when a government wilfully commits genocide upon some of it's own people.

dg writes: think harder.

Adam Cummings | 07.07.21 - 9:31 a.m. | #

I cant understand why we cant at -least- keep masks on until a vast majority of the population is double vaccinated. Can't wait for England to be the source of an even more viral and deadly variant.

Lifeless | 11.07.21 - 1:46 a.m. | #











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