TookOne of the most bereaved in Europe with more than 152,000 dead, the country faced a wave of omicrons with daily contamination records at the end of the year exceeding 200,000, but positive cases began to decline sharply , while being hospitalized became stable. ,
“While cases are expected to continue to rise in some places, including primary schools, our scientists believe there is a good chance that the omicron wave is now peaking across the country.”, Boris Johnson told Parliament. He also announced that working from home is no longer officially recommended with immediate effect.
From Thursday 27 January, wearing a mask will no longer be legally mandated, but recommended in closed and crowded places, and will be left in schools until Thursday. Health passes will no longer be applied for going to nightclubs and some large gatherings.
“As COVID becomes endemic, we must replace legal obligations with advice and recommendations”, said Boris Johnson.
but if “UK may begin to see light at the end of the tunnel”, it is always necessary to display ” Discretion” car “The pandemic is not over”,
Often criticized for his chaotic handling of the health crisis, the conservative leader also announced in March he was planning an end to isolation for positive cases, already reduced to five days with negative tests. was given. He said he does not intend to extend the standards that enforce isolation for positive cases when it expires on March 24, a date that could be brought forward.
“We must learn to live with covid”
For Health Minister Sajid Javid, “We have to learn to live with covid like we learned to live with flu”, car “We cannot eradicate this virus and its future forms”, Speaking at a news conference, however, he did not rule out the possible “Events on the Way”,
This relaxation of measures, deemed moderate by part of the conservative majority, has been announced a week earlier than expected, in the context of an unprecedented crisis for Boris Johnson, who was embroiled in a Downing Street confinement holiday scandal.
This, he says, has been made possible by mass screening, mass vaccination campaigns and advances in treatment.
Teleworking and wearing masks were resumed in mid-December to prevent the then “unprecedented” spread of the Omicron version, but all businesses, including nightclubs, remained open.
“We have implemented the fastest recall campaign in Europe, and we are the first to emerge from the Omicron wave”, Boris Johnson welcomed. “That’s why we now have the most open economy and society on the European continent.”
He again called on Britons not to come forward for their vaccine boosters, because “about 90%” People in intensive care did not.
According to Boris Johnson, more than 83% of Britons over the age of twelve have received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine, and about 64% have received a booster dose – including more than 90% of people over 60 in England.
The Health Minister has indicated that children under the age of twelve ” In danger “ Vaccination will also start in January.
The latest data available also shows a nearly 40% drop in the number of new weekly cases. The number of intensive care patients staying short during the Omicron wave is also declining.
In the UK, each country sets its own health policy. In Scotland, most restrictions will be lifted on Monday, allowing nightclubs to reopen and the removal of the three-household limit for indoor gatherings. Telecom is still recommended.