According to BBC News, Boris Johnson announced in a statement that England’s Plan B restrictions will be phased away beginning next Thursday, with required face coverings in public areas and Covid passports being taken out. The prime minister also declared that the government will stop advising people to work from home immediately. As a result of boosters and people embracing Plan B ideas, the Prime Minister declared that England was reverting to “Plan A.” Scientists felt the Omicron wave had peaked nationwide, he told MPs. “This is a time for all of us to be proud of,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid said during a Downing Street news conference. It reminds us of what our country is capable of when we all work together.”
However, he stressed that this is not the end line because the virus and subsequent versions cannot be eradicated; rather, “we must learn to live with Covid in the same way we live with flu.” He asked people to continue taking precautions to keep the virus at bay, such as hand washing, ventilating rooms, and isolating themselves if positive – and urged those who were unvaccinated to come forward and receive their shots.
The prime minister recently suggested in a message to MPs in the House of Commons that essential Covid passports for attending nightclubs and large events will be phased out, with organizations allowed to use the NHS Covid pass instead. People would no longer be encouraged to work from home, and their return to the workplace would have to be discussed with their employers. Face masks will no longer be required, however they should still be worn in confined or crowded settings, as well as when meeting strangers. Secondary school students will no longer be required to wear face masks in class beginning Thursday, and government restrictions on their usage in public areas will be phased out “shortly.”
Covid restrictions were put in place in December to curb the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron strain and allow for booster vaccines. Daily infections in the UK remain high but are decreasing; on Wednesday, the UK recorded 108,069 new cases. The UK Health Security Agency’s top medical expert, Dr Susan Hopkins, predicted that case rates will normally reduce but “may plateau at some time.” Hospital admissions appear to be falling as well. However, due to the time lag between contracting the virus and becoming very ill, mortality rates continue to grow – they are up 14.7 percent from the previous week.
