UK locals urge government to let them 'hug' as Covid lockdown eases
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When people stepped out to have lunches and soak in the summer sun, 'hi5' and fistbumps transformed into elbow-bumps and hugs turned into a distant memory
As people in the UK finally got to step out without worrying about the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, they were left wanting for more.
When people stepped out to have lunches and soak in the summer sun, 'hi5' and fistbumps transformed into elbow-bumps and hugs turned into a distant memory. However, while locals have made peace with donning face masks and social distancing, they refuse to live in a world where they cannot hug their loved ones.
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This request has reached the Boris Johnson-led government who has promised to keep ‘hugging’ under review in the third stage of unlocking, which is due on May 17.
However, the authorities have still warned locals not to forget that the "virus has not gone away" especially because many UK adults have not yet been administered the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
“We are on the cusp of being able to move to the next step of relaxation; it’s absolutely right that vaccines have been spectacularly successful but not everybody is protected,” former chief scientific adviser Sir Mark Walport, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said in a local radio programme. "We've got 35% of adults who are not vaccinated and 60% who have only had one dose and the truth is the virus has not gone away."
Walport also advised locals to learn from past mistakes and not relax completely. "The mistake that has been made repeatedly, really, is relaxing just slightly too early. What we need to do is get the numbers right down. It's important that we don’t act as an incubator for variant cases that might be able to resist immunity," he said.
Meanwhile, locals hope the government stands by its word and open indoor gatherings from May 17 and widen the limit of outdoor gatherings to 30. However, the government has not yet made any official announcement.