Parts of Europe ease COVID lockdown amid fears over repeat of disaster
Experts have warned that European countries could risk a repeat of the disaster if the lockdowns were lifted too soon or the public fail to stick to rules, Xinhua reports.
UK: A MAJOR STEP TOWARDS FREEDOM
In England, all shops are reopening from Monday along with hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services.
Restaurants and pubs are allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors. Meanwhile, gyms, spas, zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centers can all open.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the latest progress as «a major step forward in our roadmap to freedom».
«I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember 'hands, face, space and fresh air' to suppress COVID as we push on with our vaccination programme,» he said in a statement.
Britain appears currently to be in a strong position, as reaffirmed by the government, with almost 40 million combined first and second vaccine doses now administered.
However, British scientists have warned that the government is risking a third wave of COVID-19 by easing the lockdown too soon as some parts of Britain still have higher rates of infection.
«We need to tackle that issue urgently or the virus will come back again,» Leeds University medical school Associate Professor Stephen Griffin told the Observer newspaper.
«It's worrying. There are far too many virus hotspots and not enough attention being paid to controlling infections that might spread from them,» said Griffin.
Also on Monday, Ireland started to ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions as scheduled.
As a result, people are allowed to travel freely within the county where they live or within 20 kilometers from their home, with outdoor gatherings permitted for no more than two households, in-classroom education for all primary and secondary school students resumed, and all residential construction projects reopened.
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