British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's planned lifting of coronavirus restrictions under his government's new "living with COVID" strategy hit a last-minute snag, Reuters reports, as a cabinet meeting to sign off on the plan was delayed and Scottish and Welsh leaders spoke out against it. "Testing has played a pivotal role in breaking chains of transmission and as a surveillance tool helping us detect and respond to emerging variants," said Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford. "It's essential that this continues."
The effort would make Britain the first major European country to let people diagnosed with COVID-19 work, shop, and use public transport, but would also restrict access to free testing. Johnson said on Sunday that people shouldn't "throw caution to the wind," but that the success of the U.K. vaccination program meant the nation could start relying on personal responsibility rather than government mandates to curb infections. A Johnson spokesman said on Monday that the cabinet meeting was postponed "so that the prime minister could have both a security briefing and to have further meetings to finalize the plan on living with COVID."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
America's academic brain drain has begunIN THE SPOTLIGHT As the Trump administration targets universities and teachers, educators are eying greener academic pastures elsewhere — and other nations are starting to take notice
-
Why is Musk targeting a Wisconsin Supreme Court race?Today's Big Question His money could help conservatives, but it could also produce a Democratic backlash
-
How to pay off student loansThe explainer Don't just settle for the default repayment plan
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
Israel detains director after West Bank settler clashspeed read The director of Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' was arrested and beaten
-
Turkey arrests Istanbul mayor, a top Erdogan rivalSpeed Read Protests erupted in Turkey after authorities detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu
-
Israel strikes Gaza, breaking ceasefireSpeed Read 326 Palestinians were killed in the first major attack since Netanyahu's government signed a ceasefire agreement with Hamas
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Houthis vow retaliation amid US airstrikesSpeed Read Trump promises the US will use 'overwhelming lethal force' against the Houthis until they stop attacking Red Sea ships
-
Pakistan train hostage standoff ends in bloodshedSpeed Read Pakistan's military stormed a train hijacked by separatist militants, killing 33 attackers and rescuing hundreds of hostages
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
