Large majority of Britons ‘worried’ about Johnson’s plan to lift all Covid restrictions: Poll

An overwhelming majority of British people are “worried” about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to lift all remaining coronavirus restrictions this month.

Johnson plans to end social distancing and mask-wearing and limits on numbers at events on June 21 amid reports that the Delta variant of concern first identified in India is now dominant in the UK.

The variant might have an increased risk of hospitalization compared to the Alpha variant, Public Health England (PHE) said on Thursday.

The mounting anxiety about Johnson’s plan was revealed in an exclusive poll for The Independent as pressure for a delay increases.

Nearly 65 percent of people, according to the poll, are concerned about scrapping the “one meter plus” rule, which requires venues to use screens, or seat people facing away from each other.

Another concerning issue is ending the need to wear masks in many settings, 63 percent of the people surveyed said, while 60 percent said limits on the number of people allowed into concerts, theatres and sports stadiums should remain in place.

The poll also revealed the government does not have majority backing for lifting all restrictions, with only 45 percent supporting and 42 percent opposing the plan.

Delta variant dominant in UK, may increase risk of hospitalization

The Delta variant of concern first identified in India is now dominant in Britain and might have an increased risk of hospitalization compared to the Alpha variant, Public Health England said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Martin McKee, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the results indicated that “the public seem to be ahead of the government” about the dangers of ending the rules.

“We have two epidemics in the UK. The first, with the Alpha variant, is being controlled by the existing measures, which is good,” Prof McKee told The Independent.

“The second, with the much more transmissible Delta variant, which poses a particular risk to the large number of people who are not yet fully vaccinated, is spreading rapidly," he said.

“There is a fairly consistent view among researchers from different disciplines that these conditions call for great caution. Once again the public seem to be ahead of the government.”

Johnson is said to be involved in fighting an internal battle to stick to the 21 June date, amid mounting pressure from his MPs and Tory-backing newspapers not to pull back.

On Thursday, the premier insisted he could “see nothing in the data at the moment that means we can’t go ahead” with the full reopening in spite of dramatically rising infections.

There were 5,472 new cases of the Delta variant reported in latest weekly figures, taking the total confirmed cases of the variant to 12,431, PHE said on Thursday.

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