British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday (local time) confirmed that all virus restrictions in England will end on July 19.
Johnson told reporters that the move will eliminate mandates to wear masks in public places, social distancing rules, and work-from-home recommendations reported NHK World.
Johnson noted that vaccines help to prevent people with the coronavirus from developing serious symptoms.
He insisted that, while hospitalizations and deaths will continue to rise, they will likely be much lower than during the peak of the outbreak last autumn, reported NHK World.
He said, “we cannot simply revert instantly from Monday, July 19 to life as it was before COVID.”
Meanwhile, officials said the government recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded indoor areas. Some experts warned that eliminating restrictions when the virus is spreading will be risky, reported NHK World.
Britain has seen its daily case count top 30,000 in recent days, amid the spread of the Delta variant.
Johnson urged people to act with caution and personal responsibility, saying, “this pandemic is not over.”
