Britain Turns Into Test Case for Covid Endgame
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised no more delays to lifting restrictions, yet cases are surging and more deaths are inevitable.
People queue to be inoculated at a mass vaccination event at the London Stadium in London, on June 19.
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergAt the start of the pandemic last March, Boris Johnson stood gravely in front of television cameras and told Britain the harsh reality. “Many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time,” he said.
If that was the moment that brought home the gravity of the unfolding crisis, next month’s planned lifting of coronavirus restrictions will require the U.K. prime minister to level with the public again. More loss of life is inevitable, and the issue is just how many more deaths will ensue as collateral damage to rescue the economy.