Britain to lift restrictions despite soaring infections

Britain plans to scrap laws requiring face masks and social distancing later this month, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday, even as he acknowledged that lifting restrictions will drive surging coronavirus cases higher.

Johnson said legal controls will be replaced by "personal responsibility" when the country moves into the final stage of its lockdown lifting road map. It is scheduled to happen on July 19, though Johnson said a final decision on this would come on July 12.

The change will mean people can throw away masks after months of enforced face-covering, though its use will still be recommended in some enclosed spaces such as public transport.

The removal of social distancing rules will allow nightclubs to reopen for the first time in 16 months, and people can once again order drinks at the bar. People will also no longer need to use a phone app to provide their contact details when entering a venue.

The government will also stop instructing people to work from home if they can, leaving employers free to bring their employees back into offices.

Before the announcement, Sky News quoted Helen Whately, the government's care minister, as saying infections would inevitably rise but that there was no compelling reason not to sweep away work-from-home orders, the requirement for people to wear face masks, and the need for individuals to distance themselves from others.

"We're on track to give people back far more of their freedoms, much more back to normal," said Whately in an interview with Sky News.

She said the move was made possible by the sacrifices that people have made and the huge success of the vaccination program which has really weakened the link between people catching COVID-19 and ending up in hospital with a real risk of dying.

Britain has recorded more than 128,000 deaths so far, the second-highest in Europe after Russia. Infections are also rising due to the highly transmissible Delta variant.

About 86 percent of adults in the United Kingdom have received at least one vaccine dose and 64 percent are already fully vaccinated. The government aims to give everyone over the age of 18 both shots by mid-September.

'Freedom day'

Johnson said Britain would have to learn to live with the virus－a major shift in tone from a leader who had previously painted COVID-19 as an enemy to be vanquished.

The reopening message was welcomed by lockdown skeptics in Johnson's governing Conservative Party, who say the economic and social damage of such long-lasting virus restrictions outweighs public health benefits. Britain's populist press has dubbed July 19"freedom day".

But public health officials and scientists urged caution, saying ditching masks and social distancing all together could be dangerous. Psychologist Stephen Reicher, a member of the government's scientific advisory committee, said proportionate mitigations against the spread of the virus should stay in place.

Agencies and Earle Gale in London contributed to this story.