LONDON — Britain’s slow but steady march out of a three-month lockdown stays on track even as coronavirus cases surge elsewhere in Europe, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday, as he confirmed that businesses from barbers to bookstores will be allowed to reopen next week.
Johnson stated it’s too soon to decide, however, whether U.K. residents will be able to have summer trips abroad. He confirmed that the government will test out a contentious “vaccine passport” system — a way for individuals to offer proof they have protection from COVID-19 — as a tool to help travel and large events return safely.
4 weeks after England took its first step out of lockdown by reopening schools, Johnson stated Britain’s vaccination program was proceeding well and infections were falling. He stated the next step would come as planned on April 12, with the reopening of hairdressers, beauty salons, gyms, nonessential shops and bar, and restaurant patios.
“We set out our road map and we’re sticking to it,” Johnson stated during a news conference.
However, he added, “We can’t be complacent. We can see the waves of sickness afflicting different nations, and we’ve seen how this story goes.”
A ban on overnight stays away from home in England will also be lifted on April 12, and outdoor venues such as zoos and drive-in cinemas can operate again.
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are following similar but slightly different paths out of lockdown.
Britain has recorded almost 127,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe. But infections and deaths both have fallen sharply during the current lockdown and since the start of a vaccination campaign that has given the first dose to more than 31 million people, or six in 10 adults.
The government aims to give all adults at least one shot of vaccine by July and hopes that a combination of vaccination and mass testing will allow indoor socializing and large-scale events to return.
It says all adults and kids in England will be encouraged to have routine coronavirus tests twice a week as a way to stamp out new outbreaks. The government stated free lateral flow tests will be available free beginning Friday by mail, from pharmacies, and in workplaces.
Lateral flow tests give results in minutes but are less accurate than the PCR swab tests used to officially confirm cases of COVID-19. But the government insists they are reliable and can help find people who contract the virus but don’t have symptoms.
Britons are currently banned by law from going on vacation abroad under the extraordinary powers Parliament has given the government to fight the pandemic. The government stated Monday it won’t lift the travel ban before May 17 — and maybe later.
