Its Freedom Time! However, WHO doesn’t think so.

As of July 19th face masks and social distancing are no longer a legal requirement in England, but people are being asked to “exercise judgement” about when to still use them.There are no longer limits on social contact and venues such as nightclubs are allowed to reopen at full capacity. Despite this, experts have urged caution over the easing of lockdown restrictions, warning that relaxing measures too early could lead to another surge in cases and threaten the NHS with collapse.

 At St John’s Staff Hire, we have seen a substantial increase in Covid-19 (scares and confirmed cases!) within our team members throughout the Lake District, mostly in the Hospitality industry, as is perhaps not unexpected. People and their labour is the lifeblood of our business, and because of that we are still very cautious of the pandemic and are doing our utmost to make sure all our staff are comfortable in their working environment. However, as peoples’ inhibitions drop, cases were bound to increase, and those people who provide customer-facing service to the public were always going to be the most at risk.

 Last week, the World Health Organisation warned governments against easing coronavirus restrictions too soon, as Europe faces a new rise in infections fuelled by the more contagious Delta variant. Michael Ryan adds that “There has been a 33% increase (in new infections) in the European region in the last week”.

This is certainly not a good sign, and but we have waited a long time for this supposed Freedom Day, and we think most people are now of the opinion that we need to start returning to normal life, as too much of what adds value to our human experience has been limited by restrictions.

 We are committed to being careful as we build back towards normal because we value our team and their health and well-being, but we also respect individual choice and recognise that trying to coerce people into operating in line with guidance when they are fed up with being told what to do and how to behave is a real moral maze. So, what do you think should be done now? Do we continue to try and suppress the virus, or do we learn to live with it and try and enjoy life despite the current situation?

 Artur