#16,069
Yesterday the UK reported over 50,000 COVID cases over the past 24 hours - the highest daily total since since the 15th of January - and about an hour ago UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid @sajidjavid released the following statement on Twitter indicating that he, too, has tested positive for COVID.
Javid is reportedly fully vaccinated, and is only reporting mild symptoms at this time. While some vaccines appear to be less effective in preventing infection from the Delta variant, they reportedly still reduce the odds of experiencing serious illness.
All of this comes just 48 hours before the UK plans to end nearly all legal restrictions on social contact - including indoor face mask wearing - a move that has drawn sharp criticism from a number of epidemiologists around the globe.
Two months ago, the UK was reporting fewer than 2,000 cases a day, making yesterday's tally more than a 25-fold increase. There are estimates that the UK could reach 100,000 cases a day before the end of summer (see UK PM: COVID Restrictions To End July 19th - Imperial College London Modeling Of Step 4).
The UK is gambling that - due to the high uptake of vaccines by the most vulnerable populations - severe cases won't overwhelm their NHS, deaths won't skyrocket, and that `Long COVID' won't be a huge factor.
With other regions of the world tightening their pandemic restrictions in response to the Delta variant (see California: LA County Health Dept. Order To Reinstate Indoor Face Mask Mandate), the world will be watching closely to see if the UK's contrarian policy is a viable path back to normalcy, or simply exacerbates their public health crisis.
Stay tuned.
