New health secretary says country will have to learn to live with virus, and easing will be ‘irreversible’
Covid restrictions in England “must come to an end” on 19 July, the new health secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced, saying the public and ministers will have to “learn to live” with the virus.
In his first Commons appearance since taking over from Matt Hancock, who quit over the weekend after an affair with an aide broke social distancing rules, Javid said the easing next month would be “irreversible”. He said 19 July was “not only the end of the line, but the start of an exciting new journey for our country”.
