AS THE remaining Covid restrictions in England lift this week, the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, has reinforced government requests for caution.
The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon that all restrictions, including the legal requirement to self-isolate after a positive test for Covid, would be lifted. Official guidance remains that people should stay at home if they test positive.
“We don’t need laws to compel people to be considerate to others,” Mr Johnson said. “We can rely on that sense of responsibility to one another, providing practical advice in the knowledge that people will follow it to avoid infecting loved ones and others.”
Legally binding restrictions in Northern Ireland were lifted last week. On Tuesday afternoon, the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, announced that legal restrictions in Scotland would be removed from 21 March, but that mask-wearing would still be advised in shops and on public transport. The Welsh government has previously indicated that restrictions could be lifted towards the end of March, but has not yet released a timetable.
Free mass testing in England will end on 1 April. After that date, testing will be available only to people in vulnerable categories.
Bishop Mullally, who chairs the Church of England’s Covid Recovery Group, issued a statement on Monday evening in response to the Government’s move. She said that, although Mr Johnson’s news “holds out the hopeful prospect of the end of the pandemic”, it would none the less “raise concerns for some”.
She continued: “Although the legal restrictions are being lifted, there may be good reason for us to take some measures as individuals and as local churches. I am conscious that some people with medical conditions will be more fearful now that compulsory isolation for those who are likely to be infectious is ending, and we should not lose our focus on the most vulnerable.”
During a press conference in Downing Street on Monday afternoon, after the Commons announcement, the Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Chris Whitty, said that the ending of restrictions was a “gradual, steady change over a period of time. . . This is not a sudden ‘everything stops’.”
“Let us heave a sigh of relief — but not in the direction of anyone vulnerable”
The Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, described Mr Johnson’s plan to “live with Covid” as a “half-baked announcement from a Government paralysed by chaos and incompetence”, and suggested that the decision to end free mass testing was a mistake: “If you’re 2-1 up with ten minutes to go, you don’t sub off one of your best defenders.”
Bishop Mullally praised health workers, clergy, and congregations, saying that they “have been the glue which has held our communities and our nation together during this time of great need”.
Vaccines had been “a real answer to prayer”, she said. “They are more vital than ever, both here and around the world.”
In his Commons statement, Mr Johnson reiterated the Government’s pledge to send 100 million vaccine doses overseas by June 2022. In November, a cross-party parliamentary group warned that the UK were not on track to hit that target.
In March last year, the Bishop of Hertford, Dr Michael Beasley, a former epidemiologist, helped to establish VaccinAid, which encourages donations to support the global distribution of vaccines (News, 22 March 2021).
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