We’ve enough ‘Freedom’ ALREADY: Anxious Britons vow to avoid pubs and restaurants after July 19 while a third of staff are ‘uncomfortable’ with return to office and 120,000 sign petition demanding masks remain on public transport

• New poll finds that four in 10 adults support compulsory mask-wearing in public spaces indefinitely 
• Ipsos Mori found quarter of people would like nightclubs and casinos to remain permanently closed
• Around a third of the 1,025 adults interviewed said they would support permanent social distancing 

People in England have admitted they are unwilling to enjoy the freedoms set to be restored next week, as new polling shows four in 10 adults support compulsory face masks in public indefinitely while a third of workers say they are ‘uncomfortable’ with returning to the office. 

A survey conducted by Ipsos Mori found that a quarter of people would like nightclubs and casinos to remain shut after the pandemic, while nearly a fifth support a permanent 10pm curfew.

Around a third of the 1,025 adults aged 16-75 interviewed on July 2 and 3 also said they would support permanent social distancing in theatres, pubs and sports grounds, while 35 per cent said they would support mandatory 10-day quarantines for people returning from abroad forever.

Thirty-six per cent of those polled said they would support compulsory QR scanning upon entering hospitality venues, while 40 per cent said they support mask mandates in shops and on public transport. More than 45 per cent of adults only the vaccinated to ever travel abroad again. 

Rail and bus companies have said coverings will not be compulsory when restrictions are lifted next week, with a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group announcing that railway travel is ‘low risk’.

But the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents the bus and coach industry, has called for ‘clear guidance for operators and customers’, while Labour mayors Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham urged the Government to extend the mask mandate beyond July 19.

A petition urging Sajid Javid to retain the mask mandate on public transport has already received more than 120,000 signatures from people who claim: ‘Masks don’t just protect the wearer, they protect the people nearby, so even if transport workers continue to wear masks and others don’t it puts them at risk.’  

Anxious people have revealed on Twitter that they are not likely to go to the pub on the so-called Freedom Day, whether they are nervous about catching the virus or irritated by being required to wear masks upon entry. Some have also expressed frustration of being ‘pinged’ to self-isolate by the NHS app.

One person said: ‘I won’t be going to a pub anyway. I went to a full pub of maskless, sitting people whilst not wearing a mask standing up and got verbally abused by multiple people.’ 

Another wrote: ‘I won’t be going to the pub/restaurant/cinema/theatre/shopping centre etc. when ‘freedom day’ arrives. Will most definitely not be spending my money to help the economy at a risk to my own health. I will remain cautious and masked, spend time with my cautious family.’ 

A third added: ‘I’ll decide when it’s safe to ditch my mask and when it’s safe to go into a pub, restaurant etc. And I won’t be going into a pub any time soon.’ 

As new polling shows that support for restrictions remains considerable, it emerged:   

• Downing Street hinted there could be another lockdown to tackle coronavirus at the end of the year; 
• The Test, Trace & Isolate system is set to stay until at least next year despite alarm over rising numbers of healthy people being doomed to house arrest; 
• Britain’s rise in cases means it beats almost all of the countries on its amber list in terms of daily infections;
• Nicola Sturgeon defied Boris Johnson by keeping masks mandatory in Scotland even after lockdown ends;
• Nightclubs, music venues, theatres and busy pubs will be encouraged to ask for Covid status;
• More than two million vulnerable people will be advised to minimise social contact until the third wave stops;  
• Sajid Javid confirmed that fully vaccinated frontline NHS staff would be exempted from self-isolation rules; 
• Ministers prepared to push through regulations today requiring care home staff to have the Covid jab;
• The Commons authorities faced criticism for suggesting staff will have to wear masks when MPs can opt out;
• Tory politicians warned the economy would ‘grind to a halt’ unless self-isolation rules were scaled back.

Fear of coronavirus could further delay England’s so-called Freedom Day after new polling found that four in 10 adults support compulsory mask-wearing in public spaces indefinitely, while around a third of workers admit they are ‘uncomfortable’ with returning to the office 

A survey conducted by Ipsos Mori found that a quarter of people would like nightclubs and casinos to remain shut forever, while nearly a fifth support a permanent 10pm curfew. Around a third of the 1,025 adults aged 16-75 interviewed on July 2 and 3 also said they would support enforced social distancing in theatres, pubs and sports grounds, while 35 per cent said they would support mandatory 10-day quarantines for people returning from abroad permanently 

Women wearing face masks walk through Notting Hill Gate station on July 13, 2021

Anxious people have revealed on Twitter that they are not likely to go to the pub on the so-called Freedom Day, whether they are nervous about catching the virus or irritated by being required to wear masks upon entry. Some have also expressed frustration of being ‘pinged’ to self-isolate by the NHS app

Passengers wear face coverings euat Waterloo Station on July 4, 2021

Boris Johnson wears a face mask as he departs following a Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving marking the 73rd Anniversary of the foundation of the NHS on July 5, 2021

No10 has hinted there could be another lockdown to tackle coronavirus at the end of the year, even though top scientists believe such drastic action may be unnecessary. 

In another sign of the Government’s changing tune on whether restrictions will be gone for good after ‘Freedom Day’ next week, minister Steve Barclay said ‘no one knows’ how effective vaccines will be in the winter, meaning some measures may need to be reintroduced. 

But his comments came as one of SAGE’s own advisers admitted he doesn’t see No10 needing to resort to drastic lockdowns again this winter.

Professor Calum Semple, a paediatrician at Liverpool University, warned of a ‘miserable winter’ ahead because of the mix of Covid with flu and other ‘respiratory viruses that we didn’t experience in the last year or so’. 

However, he confessed that he doesn’t ‘foresee the lockdowns or the school suspensions that we’ve seen’ and that curbs including mask-wearing could be reintroduced in order to contain any winter wave. 

In a statement, Ipsos Mori’s head of political research Gideon Skinner said: ‘Throughout most of the pandemic, we’ve seen support for many of the measures that the Government has taken to control the virus – broadly speaking, many more people define themselves as supporters of the restrictions than opponents, and only a minority believe that the rules have been too strict. 

‘This latest polling backs this up, with the public prepared to accept a number of restrictions such as mask-wearing and on foreign travel being in place in the short-term after the planned July 19th easing, and even if necessary until the coronavirus is under control worldwide (although support for the most extreme of the options – a curfew – is consistently much lower).’

But added: ‘This isn’t a blank cheque – support falls noticeably for restrictions being in place permanently. Interestingly, while Covid is still seen as a risk support for restrictions tends to be stronger among older age groups, but that age difference disappears when we ask about support for restrictions remaining in place permanently (and if anything, older groups actually become more opposed).’  

It comes as a survey by CV-Library shared exclusively with MailOnline has found that around 55 per cent of UK professionals feel anxious about returning to the office next week. 

With over 1,100 responses, the poll found that 73 per cent of workers ‘prefer the flexibility of working from home’, while 33 per cent ‘still fee uncomfortable because of Covid-19’.

Nearly a quarter of those interviewed said they did not want to work in the office because of the commute, while around 37 per cent said they do not ‘want to deal with office politics’. Forty-four per cent of those polled claimed that they get more work done when they are not in the office.  

Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV-Library, said: ‘The trend towards working from home was already gaining in popularity before the onset of Covid -19 in March 2020. However, as swathes of the UK population were forced to work from home, many have found they enjoy the benefits of working remotely and are eager to avoid returning to the workplace full-time.’

The survey went on to find that less than a quarter (23 per cent) felt comfortable enough to discuss their worries with a manager. A staggering 74 per cent claimed that their employer had not offered any mental health support to help staff make the transition back into the workplace.  

Mr Biggins added: ‘It’s clear that many companies can operate with the majority of their staff working remotely, so embracing this revolution is the best way to move forward throughout 2021. 

‘Any employers that fail to do so may find it increasingly difficult to retain and attract new team members during a vital time of recovery and as we emerge from lockdown and restrictions.’

Businesses are calling for urgent clarity over guidance on mask-wearing, social distancing, work from home and so-called vaccine passports before legal restrictions are axed on July 19, amid mounting fears of a ‘free-for-all’ when mandatory virus measures become advisory.

Trade experts have warned that guidance laid out by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday ‘passes the buck’ and imposes ‘moral responsibility’ onto businesses, particularly hospitality firms which are trying to recover from the cycle of lockdowns.  

Business chiefs are now taking matters into their own hands, with Timpson chairman Sir John Timpson telling the BBC this morning that he will ask staff to wear masks to protect his customers but will not force customers to cover their faces because the mandate will have been scrapped. 

The coronavirus restrictions which will be removed from July 19 

A YouGov survey found that half of Britons are not confident that the remaining legal curbs will be lifted on July 19

The poll, which was conducted after the Government extended lockdown by another month, found that three-quarters of older people will continue to socially distancing after restrictions are lifted. More than half of people aged 18-24 said they would wear masks on public transport and shops, and would also continue to physically distance

Government guidance will advise that passengers should wear masks if services are busy

Boris Johnson last night warned Covid curbs could return in September if new freedoms are abused

Center Parcs CEO Martin Dalby told Radio 4’s Today programme that staff and guests will be encouraged to wear masks at his resorts because public health is ‘absolutely our number one priority’ – though he will not be ‘policing’ the advice, and no one will have to present so-called vaccine passports.  

Nightclub owner REKOM UK said it will also not be asking for Covid passports at its doors when it reopens venues on Monday, for the first time since lockdown was imposed in March last year – despite the Government advising clubs to do so after remaining curbs are lifted in England.  

Its chief executive Peter Marks said nightclubs will operate in the same way as pubs – ‘at full capacity and without any requirement for a negative Covid test, something we believe would create a barrier to both customer enjoyment and getting the industry back on its feet’.

However, ministers are threatening to force nightclub owners and other large venues to insist on ‘Covid certification’ of vaccination status as a condition of entry if steps to limit the spread of the virus are not taken by firms, according to Government guidance released last night. 

Modelling by SAGE released yesterday suggests it is realistic to expect between 100 to 200 daily fatalities and 1,000 to 2,000 hospital admissions at the worst of the current outbreak this autumn, following the unlocking on July 19, with up to 4,800 daily admissions as an upper bracket predicted by one model (black shaded curve)

Imperial’s modelling was based on low (light blue), high (dark blue) and central (blue) R rate changes after July 19. Left is optimistic vaccine efficacy, central is default and right is pessimistic. The team at Imperial said there could be more than 30,000 Covid deaths and 260,000 hospital admissions with the virus over the next year under its central assumption

DAILY HOSPITALISATIONS: SAGE expects there to be between 1,000 and 2,000 admissions at the peak this autumn, with its most central estimate shown in light blue. However, the group says its modelling is highly uncertain and depends on how fast people ditch personal precautions. For this reason the confidence intervals suggest there could be more than 3,000 daily admissions

COVID DEATHS: SAGE modelled five different scenarios after July based on how quickly people stop social distancing and following basic Covid measures. The worst-case scenario (in purple) would see people go back to pre-pandemic normal within a month and could lead to more than 500 deaths per day in October. A more gradual relaxation would see deaths remain in the 100 to 200 range at the peak (shown in light blue, dark blue and red)

Mike Cherry, CEO of the Federation of Small Businesses, said ‘safe operation will not be possible without clear workplace guidance’, adding that ‘there remain very strict rules in place around self-isolation and international travel which will have a severe impact on many businesses’.

He cautioned: ‘We cannot allow removing legal guidance to create a free-for-all, with any voluntary guidance ignored, which is why it is vital that clarity around the new state of play is given immediately.’

The Campaign for Pubs also warned that the Government’s ‘mixed messages’ on masks and so-called vaccine passports ‘creates yet more uncertainty for pubs, publicans and for pub customers’. Campaign director Greg Mulholland told MailOnline: ‘It isn’t fair to suggest that pubs and clubs should impose such measures on customers, when they don’t think such measures need to be mandatory.

‘If people, customers or staff, wish to wear a mask, they can and should do so, but it’s wrong to pass the buck and put the moral responsibility onto businesses for things that the Government are now saying aren’t essential. 

‘Individual pubs and publicans will make their own decisions, but the majority of pubs will not be imposing non-mandatory requirements onto pub goers, who are keen to get back to pubs finally operating as pubs.’  

However, legal experts told MailOnline that though the axing of mandates is a ‘legal grey area’ for companies, bosses would be ‘well within their rights’ to enforce mask and distancing policies of their own if they are satisfied that the measures prevent the spread of coronavirus. 

It comes as Downing Street hinted that it could impose another winter lockdown if the vaccines prove to be less effective at preventing serious illness and death than first thought. At a press conference last night, the Prime Minister dropped his claim the easing would be ‘irreversible’ and said that coronavirus restrictions could return in September, adding: ‘We must rule nothing out.’ 

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