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Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced plans to remove remaining Covid-19 restrictions on July 19 while urging the British public to “exercise judgment when going about our lives”.
Mr Johnson said he would “restore people’s freedoms” in two weeks’ time in England, with social distancing rules scrapped, face masks no longer compulsory, people no longer required to use QR codes and large events in full swing, with no intention to introduce vaccine passports.
The move marks a shift towards citizens' responsibility to manage the risks themselves after 16 months of unprecedented government intervention to bring the virus under control.
Mr Johnson said people must learn to live with Covid-19 as they already do with the flu, meaning infections will rise but hospital admissions and deaths will be limited by vaccine protection.
“Thanks to the successful rollout of our vaccination programme, we are progressing cautiously through our road map,” he said.
“Today we will set out how we can restore people’s freedoms when we reach step 4 [of the road map]. But I must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks.
“As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from Covid when going about our lives.”
Care Minister Helen Whately said on Monday the final unlocking meant returning to a “much more normal" life.
“The vaccination programme has really weakened the link between people catching the virus, ending up in hospital and sadly the risk of dying”, she told Sky News.
“We do anticipate infections will rise as we open up more and people go about life more like normal, but the important thing is more people getting vaccinated.”
Newly appointed Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who is considered more hawkish on the easing of rules than his predecessor Matt Hancock, will set out the changes in Parliament.
Business leaders including the Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye signed a letter calling on the government to make a decisive statement on what happens after July 19.
"For many months now, employers and employees have dealt with often complex – sometimes mixed – messages tending towards caution where the advice has not been clear cut," the open letter from 50 executives said.
"At this critical moment, we believe that it is essential that the Government is unambiguous in its communications that when the stage four restrictions lift, public transport is safe, offices are safe, and work-from-home is no longer the default. Employers can then move forward with plans for new ways of working, considering the needs of their staff, clients, and customers."
Some scientists criticised plans to remove the mask mandate.
Prof Stephen Reicher from the University of St Andrews in Scotland said he was worried that ministers appeared to be “unconcerned at levels of infection”.
“It is frightening to have a 'Health' Secretary who wants to make all protections a matter of personal choice when the key message of the pandemic is "this isn't an 'I' thing, it's a 'we' thing", he wrote on Twitter.
“Your behaviour affects my health.”
Prof Susan Michie from University College London was also critical.
"Allowing community transmission to surge is like building new 'variant factories' at a very fast rate", she said.
Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, was more optimistic about the easing of restrictions.
“I think we will reach a point where it’s increasingly difficult, if this link between the cases and the hospitalisations and deaths remains extremely weak or broken, where we can’t get back to normal”, he told BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme earlier on Monday.
“Clearly with infections if you want to completely stop them the only way to do that is to stay at home - and we can’t go on like that.”
The British Medical Association at the weekend urged the government to maintain some restrictions owing to an "alarming" increase in the number of Covid cases driven by the Delta variant, which are nearly at 30,000 a day.
However, the uptake of vaccines in Britain has been strong, with 86 per cent of adults receiving a first dose and 64 per cent receiving two doses as of Sunday.
Data from Public Health England shows that vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe illness and hospital admissions from the Delta variant, the government said.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The flights: South African Airways flies from Dubai International Airport with a stop in Johannesburg, with prices starting from around Dh4,000 return. Emirates can get you there with a stop in Lusaka from around Dh4,600 return.
The details: Visas are available for 247 Zambian kwacha or US$20 (Dh73) per person on arrival at Livingstone Airport. Single entry into Victoria Falls for international visitors costs 371 kwacha or $30 (Dh110). Microlight flights are available through Batoka Sky, with 15-minute flights costing 2,265 kwacha (Dh680).
Accommodation: The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara is an ideal place to stay, within walking distance of the falls and right on the Zambezi River. Rooms here start from 6,635 kwacha (Dh2,398) per night, including breakfast, taxes and Wi-Fi. Water arrivals cost from 587 kwacha (Dh212) per person.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE CARD
The line-up as it stands for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on April 27
50-man Royal Rumble
Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns
Casket match
The Undertaker v Rusev
Intercontinental Championship
Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Bludgeon Brothers v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship
Sheamus and Cesaro v Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy
United States Championship
Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
Singles match
Triple H v John Cena
To be confirmed
AJ Styles will defend his WWE World Heavyweight title and Cedric Alexander his Cruiserweight Championship, but matches have yet to be announced
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
Light welterweight 64.5kg
Siyovush Gulmamadov v Nouredine Samir
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
Second ODI
England 322-7 (50 ovs)
India 236 (50 ovs)
England win by 86 runs
Next match: Tuesday, July 17, Headingley
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Jawan
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Canada
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
