Will we unlock sooner than the 19th July?

Remember the announcement made ten days ago? The one where PM Boris Johnson made the announcement that lockdown would not end on the 21st June as previously stated in the government’s lockdown roadmap? The one where he justified his decision by saying that the new Delta variant meant “there is a real possibility that the virus will outrun the vaccines and that thousands more deaths would ensue which could otherwise have been avoided”?

Well, turns out, Boris might not have meant any of that. In an unexpected potential U-turn, Johnson is set to announce on Monday whether all Covid restrictions can be lifted in England on 5th July. Boris Johnson and his cabinet ministers will study data on cases, hospitalisations, and deaths, to assess whether it is safe to reopen fully any earlier than the 19th of next month.

Johnson “re-emphasised the Government’s determination to ensure the road map is irreversible” during a meeting with his Cabinet on Tuesday, according to Downing Street. The PM’s spokesperson said: “Monday will be the day when we were deciding on the decision on that and we are closely monitoring the data, ahead of providing a full update.”

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said in an interview with Sky News that he would "err on the side of caution" and "look to 19 July". He added: "It could be before, but I think that is unlikely. Generally, we have stuck to the dates we have set”.

His original decision to delay ‘Freedom Day’ until the 19th July was an unpopular decision for many in the travel, tourism, and nightlife sectors. It meant that these businesses would experience yet more difficulties operating for another four weeks and would also lose millions of pounds that had already been spent on organising their official reopening.

It meant that many festivals had to be cancelled or postponed, many holidays have had to be rescheduled, and many businesses have unfortunately closed due to their position becoming untenable. It is no surprise that the cabinet have faced increasing pressure from such industries to continue with the easing of restrictions as previously planned.

However, the government specifically chose the date of the 19th July to coincide with the NHS vaccination programme. The reasoning being that, by 19th July, far more young people will have been called forward to have their vaccine. As it is now predominantly young people that are said to be spreading the virus amongst the population – not necessarily for any particular reason other than the fact we haven’t been vaccinated yet - unlocking once more under-25s have had the first dose will mean that the vulnerable are better protected.

There have been mixed messages coming from both politicians and scientists over the past week, and Johnson’s speech about the potential 5th July reopening is just the tip of the iceberg. Despite such equivocations, the government has told us time and time again of the “irreversibility” of their roadmap out of lockdown. It is this sentiment that is likely to fuel Johnson’s speech next Monday, and the most likely answer to the question of whether we will unlock before the 19th July is “no”.

 

Words by Rebecca Clayton