Coronavirus latest: Dutch prime minister apologises for lifting Covid-19 rules
Boris Johnson has confirmed that most remaining Covid-19 laws in England will be lifted on July 19, but businesses will now be “expected” to apply new guidelines to control the disease.
The UK prime minister wants to scrap “government by diktat” but he will pass responsibility to businesses, other public bodies and individuals to try to contain the epidemic, which is spreading rapidly.
Johnson announced that an unspecified list of “high risk” indoor venues, such as nightclubs, will be “expected” to require Covid-19 certification from their customers, although it would not be a legal requirement.
Similarly, the prime minister said he was scrapping the “work from home” rule but said he did not want all workers to return” as one” to offices.
Another guideline will say the public are “expected” to wear a mask in crowded places, including public transport and shops, but there will be no legal requirement to do so.
With ministers admitting that daily case numbers could soar to a record 100,000 after legal restrictions are lifted, Johnson sent a message of “caution and restraint”: “Keep thinking of others and consider the risks,” he said.
Media talk of “freedom day” on July 19 has been replaced by a realisation in Downing Street that the public, according to opinion polls, would favour a much more cautious approach to lifting final restrictions.
While ministers were boasting earlier this month about throwing away their masks at the earliest opportunity, Downing Street said on Monday that all ministers would follow the post-July 19 guidance to cover their faces in crowded situations.
The new government approach will replace legal certainty with a number of legally grey areas, which are likely to cause consternation in some business sectors.
For example, government officials have so far been unable to say precisely what kinds of venues will be “expected” to demand Covid-19 certification from customers.
The rule is expected to cover mainly indoor venues where people mix in large numbers in enclosed spaces, such as nightclubs, but officials could not say whether the guideline would apply to pubs.
While officials said they expected businesses “to behave sensibly, given the high prevalence of the disease”, they confirmed that a nightclub could legally operate up to its fire limit without requiring Covid-19 certificates.
Public transport is also likely to become a contested space when it comes to the wearing of masks, with the removal of any legal requirement to wear a face covering but a government “expectation” that people should do so.
London mayor Sadiq Khan is discussing with union chiefs and transport bosses whether to require the wearing of masks on public transport in the capital as “a condition of carriage”.
The prime minister was asked why the government was not imposing consistent restrictions on mask wearing when the pandemic had not yet gone away.
Johnson said the government was following the principle of “trying to move towards personal responsibility” on masks and social distancing alike, as he said he wanted people to exercise “extreme caution”.
“There’s a world of difference between sitting alone on an empty station platform or on a crowded Tube train. On the crowded Tube train you would as a government expect people to wear masks and I have no doubt that’s what people will do.”
Chris Whitty, chief medical officer, said there was “no ideal date” for lifting legal restrictions and scientists disagreed on when it should happen.
“There is not clear evidence that a delay now is going to make a difference,” he said. “What is going to make a difference is going slowly.” He said Johnson’s approach reflected his idea of “going slowly”.