UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to unveil on Monday his “living with COVID plan’’ amid criticism from the opposition, unions and medical sectors which fear that the lifting of all restrictions.
The opposition and medical sectors fear the scrapping of free testing and the legal self-isolation requirement could lead to another wave of the pandemic.
In a statement, Johnson claimed that although the pandemic is not over, the UK was “one step closer to a return to normality, thanks to the incredible vaccine rollout’’.
However, TUC, Unite, Unison and other unions urged the prime minister to reconsider his , as his plan could lead to chaos in schools and workplaces.
“If the remaining safety rules are relaxed, schools will be left in an impossible situation, with parents unsure about whether to send their children into school, transmission rates soaring and new, more potent variants emerging,’’ they warned in a joint statement.
Stephen Doughty, Labour lawmaker and shadow minister for Africa and International Development also criticised the government’s plan, claiming that this is the wrong time to scrap free test and be rolling back on the restrictions on self-isolation.
“I think the government again is driven by the headlines rather than what’s the best advise here,’’ the opposition politician said.
An emergency medicine doctor also questioned Johnson’s “rush” in bringing forward by about a month the new COVID-19 plan.
“There are measures that we need to put in place to properly live with COVID,’’ doctor Saleyha Ahsan said.
Johnson is expected to update Parliament on the plans on Monday afternoon before holding a televised news conference to reveal details to the public in the evening. (Sputnik/NAN)
