The UK Home Office released the COVID-19 Response for Sumer 2021, the government outlines its forthcoming efforts:
- Reinforce the country’s vaccine wall of defense through vaccine campaigns and boosters.
- Enable the public to make informed decisions through guidance, rather than laws.
- Retain proportionate test, trace, and isolate plans in line with international comparators.
- Manage risks at the border and support a global response to reduce the risk of variants emerging globally and entering the UK.
- Retain contingency measures to respond to unexpected events, while accepting that further cases, hospitalizations, and deaths will occur as the country learns to live with COVID-19.
According to the Home Office, Step 4 marks a new phase in the UK government’s response to the pandemic, moving away from stringent restrictions on day-to-day life towards advice and targeted interventions to reduce risk.
Following the roadmap released in the spring, the UK would be moving to Step 4 on July 19. As cases continue to rise in the UK, the decision to further ease restrictions and progress to Step 4 will be based on assessments on July 12.
Key Highlights of the Response
- In Step 4, people who have been fully vaccinated will no longer have to self-isolate if they are a contact of a positive case.
- The Global Travel Taskforce, which oversees the traffic light system for international travel, confirmed that the majority of measures would remain in place, but set out its intention that arrivals from amber countries who were fully vaccinated would not need to isolate from later this summer. The Transport Secretary will set out further details shortly.
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