One might (wrongly) assume that COVID-19 no longer exists in the UK. After ending recommendations on telework last week, the English government on Thursday lifted the last remaining restrictions to fight the coronavirus in the country. It is no longer mandatory to wear masks indoors in public places, nor to present vaccination passports for events with large audiences. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced the continuation of the measure in the capital, in protest against the lifting of the mandatory wearing of masks on public transport.

“As Covid becomes endemic, we must replace legal obligations with advice and recommendations”, justified last week, before deputies, Boris Johnson for whom the population will have to get used to living with Covid-19, as it does flu. The prime minister also hopes to be able to lift the obligation to self-isolate in the event of a positive test in March, “just as there is no legal obligation for people with the flu to isolate themselves”.

the hospital is holding

This air of freedom is timely for the prime minister, Boris Johnson, who has been weakened more than ever at the head of government by the Downing Street holiday scandal in defiance of anti-Covid-19 rules. As the number of cases exploded over the holidays, Boris Johnson resisted calls for further tightening of restrictions. He believes the facts proved him right: Hospitals were closed, the number of patients on ventilators never increased, and cases declined sharply.

However, the United Kingdom, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic with about 155,000 deaths, still experiences around 100,000 new cases recorded daily. Infection levels remain high, especially among children and adolescents, according to a study published by Imperial College London. Of the 3,500 participants in this large study who tested positive between January 5 and 20, two-thirds already had the virus.