LONDON – Friends will hug, pints will be pulled and swathes of the British economy will reopen on Monday, giving 65 million people a measure of freedom after the gloom of a four-month coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown.
Most of the British will be free once again to hug, albeit cautiously, drink in their pub, sit down to an indoor meal or visit the cinema after a series of lockdowns that imposed the strictest restrictions in peacetime history.
The biggest public health crisis in a century was accompanied by a drastic extension of state power; during England’s lockdowns police broke up parties and protests alike, shut down religious services and handed out fines of up to 10,000 pounds to youngsters for partying.(Reuters)
