UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to confirm this afternoon, that all legal covid restrictions will be removed from next Monday July 19th. However, Conservative back-bench MP’s are claiming that “Freedom Day” is already being “watered down.”
This is because vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi, speaking on The Andrew Marr Show yesterday, said that people would be expected to continue to wear face coverings in certain situations, indefinitely. Zahawi told Marr:
“The guidelines will be very clear on things like mask wearing. There’s an expectation for people to wear masks indoors, in crowded places, on public transport.”
He went on to say that it would be “both a personal responsibility and a corporate responsibility”.
Last night, Johnson himself said:
“We are tantalisingly close to the final milestone in our roadmap out of lockdown, but the plan to restore our freedoms must come with a warning. Caution is absolutely vital, and we must all take responsibility so we don’t undo our progress, ensuring we continue to protect our NHS.”
Last week the government had said that wearing a mask after July 19th would be left up to the individual. It would be “a personal choice,” Johnson said.
According to The Telegraph newspaper:
Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of lockdown-sceptic Tory MPs, accused ministers of a “shift in policy” and said it was “torturing the nation”.
Arguing that for some people wearing a mask is a “terrible thing”, he added: “It’s not fair snatching away people’s hope, it’s psychologically, profoundly destructive.”
The mixed messaging is deliberate. It is psychological torture. Steve Baker understands that much even though he’s probably unaware of the wider agenda. Probably.
