England yesterday entered the second phase of its lockdown easing thanks to a successful COVID-19 vaccination drive, but the British government was urging vigilance as another wave of the coronavirus sweeps Europe.
After schools reopened on March 8, England’s stay-at-home order was relaxed yesterday to enable outdoor gatherings of up to six people, or two households, in what newspapers were dubbing “Happy Monday.”
While elite sports such as English Premier League soccer have continued during the latest lockdown — minus fans — the new regulations allow amateur team sports to resume, along with tennis, golf, basketball and swimming outdoors.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he hoped Monday “will kick-start a Great British summer of sport — with people of all ages reunited with teammates, and able to resume the activities they love.”
“But we must remain cautious, with cases rising across Europe and new variants threatening our vaccine rollout,” he said, urging the public to adhere to guidance on social distancing and hygiene.
In the third phase of reopening from April 12, the government plans to allow outdoors drinking in pub gardens and nonessential retailers, such as hairdressers, to reopen in England.
The devolved governments of the UK’s other nations — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — are moving at their own pace.
Johnson, whose own hair has grown increasingly unruly, said that he was looking forward to going to the barbers, and to a pint of beer.
While conceding that Europe’s latest wave of COVID-19 could hit the UK in about three weeks, he said at the weekend that the “key difference” was the vaccination drive.
“And as things stand, I can see absolutely nothing in the data to dissuade me from continuing along our road map to freedom, unlocking our economy and getting back to the life we love,” Johnson said on Saturday.
With 126,834 deaths, the UK has one of the world’s worst mortality rates from the pandemic, but on Sunday it passed the milestone of inoculating more than 30 million adults with a first dose of vaccine, and the government intends to lift the lockdown fully in June.
It has so far been using two vaccines, those developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, and by BioNTech and Pfizer.
British Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden said that the first batch of 17 million doses of a third vaccine, from US company Moderna, is expected to arrive next month.
That would alleviate concerns about supplies from a major vaccine manufacturer in India, as well as an ongoing dispute with the EU over AstraZeneca exports.
Dowden said that the vaccination program remains “on course” to hit the government’s target of offering a first jab to all adults by the end of July, while follow-up second doses were also on target.
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