Boris Johnson faces a growing revolt over plans to end most Covid restrictions on 19 July – including the mandatory wearing of face masks on public transport and in hospitals – as half of the public now say they want “freedom day” to be delayed.

Last night, as doctors and other NHS workers demanded that mask-wearing continue in hospitals, regional political leaders broke ranks, saying they would override the national government on the issue and strongly advise people to continue wearing masks on public transport.

Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, told the Observer that with Covid cases rising rapidly again, “freedom day” risked becoming “anxiety day” for huge numbers of vulnerable people, because the government was making unwise decisions.

“The government is simply wrong to frame everything from here as a matter of pure personal choice. It is not,” said Burnham. “Many people who are vulnerable to the virus have to use public transport and do their food shopping in person. That is why the wearing of face coverings in these settings should have remained mandatory. I will be strongly encouraging the people of Greater Manchester to continue to wear masks on public transport out of respect for others.”

London mayor Sadiq Khan is also involved in urgent talks with the government, Transport for London (TfL), private train operators, and trade unions as support grows for the wearing of face masks to remain mandatory on the capital’s transport network.
 
It is understood that Khan believes keeping the mask requirement for all transport modes would be the simplest and safest measure. He said last week that the use of face coverings reduces the spread of Covid “and crucially gives Londoners confidence to travel on the network, which is vital to our economic recovery”.

Police urge England fans without tickets to stay away from London
The Met police have urged England fans without tickets for the Euro 2020 final on Sunday not to travel to London as cases continue to rise in the capital and across the UK.

The force also asked football fans not to congregate in large groups amid the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

Deputy assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said that the force has a “significantly enhanced policing operation” in place for the match.

He added: “We want people to be able to enjoy the Euros 2020 final safely and securely, behave responsibly and consider the safety and welfare of others.

“London still remains in a public health crisis. There are government guidelines in place and we ask people to follow these and remain socially distanced. We will enforce legislation proportionately and as appropriate and engage with crowds.

“But I urge people not to gather in large numbers. If you don’t have a ticket to the matches, fan zone or officially booked into a pub, bar or club, my message is clear: please do not come to London – you could end up missing the game.”