The announcement that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived. Today, Boris Johnson set out his plan for bringing the UK out of COVID restrictions on the 19th of July. In his brief but detailed announcement, the Prime Minister described plans to remove restrictions on everything from nightclubs to theatres and care homes. No more 1 metre plus rule and you can say goodbye to the mask mandate as well. There will be no limits on the number of people you can meet, indoors or otherwise, and working from home is no longer required.

The good news and the bad

Boris even put rumours of COVID passports to rest, saying that:

‘There will be no Covid certificate required as a condition of entry to any venue or event, although businesses and events can certainly make use of certification and the NHS app gives you a Covid pass as one way to show your Covid status.’

Alongside the optimism and downright confusing series of steps, bullet points, and statistical suggestions, the announcement will have raised questions for some. While the majority of his address was positive, it was impossible not to notice the slightly sour note with which the former Mayor of London began:

‘As we predicted in the roadmap, we’re seeing cases rise fairly rapidly – and there could be 50,000 cases detected per day by the 19th and again as we predicted, we’re seeing rising hospital admissions and we must reconcile ourselves sadly to more deaths from Covid.’

While Boris may be content to reconcile himself with more deaths from COVID, and move on briskly, there will undoubtedly be some still wondering if this freedom from restrictions is just too soon. This is an opinion shared by the British Medical Association. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the BMA council chairman, emphasised that:

‘As case numbers continue to rise at an alarming rate due to the rapid transmission of the Delta variant and an increase in people mixing with one another, it makes no sense to remove restrictions in their entirety in just over two weeks’ time.’

The speed at which the government is intending to strip back restrictions on the British public is indeed concerning, as some will undoubtedly be reminded of the comments that Johnson was alleged to have made prior to the third nationwide lockdown. It was reported that Johnson said he would rather see “bodies pile high” than take the country into another lockdown; a comment which, if accurate, certainly seems to be holding true.

Are we getting ahead of ourselves?

While Boris will inevitably love to remove all restrictions and claim the role of the PM who ended the pandemic, there is no denying that speed is the last thing we should be aiming for right now. Some of the most highly qualified medical professionals in the country are advocating for ‘sensible, cautious measures‘ which do not include removing the mask mandate and permitting the general public to mix willy-nilly in a squashed nightclub.

While today’s announcement may have been the one that everyone wanted to hear, it was perhaps not the one that people needed to hear. A safe, controlled, and gradual unlocking of Great Britain would have sufficed. The pressure for a cascade of freedom may have been present in some areas, but for the most part there was no need for the PM to risk so much so quickly. Boris has jumped the gun.

If anything became clear today, it was that good old Boris knows how to play politics, is leading a government that appears to be indifferent to a rise in the death rate, and that the onus to stay safe is now, more than ever, on the British public.

About the Author: Isaac Knowles

Isaac Knowles is a contributing current affairs Features writer. He focuses on social issues which face everyday people and has written on topics such as race, feminism, and poverty. While endeavouring to write in-depth pieces that make real-world impacts, Isaac has developed significant expertise in the fields of politics, economics, and human rights.