The constraints are easing in England. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday that most of the restrictions imposed to fight the Omicron variant in England will end next week. Concretely, from Thursday January 27, wearing a mask will no longer be compulsory, teleworking will no longer be officially recommended and a health pass will no longer be imposed for access to nightclubs and certain large gatherings, announced the leader. Conservative in Parliament.
“As the Covid becomes endemic, we must replace legal obligations with advice and recommendations,” pleaded Boris Johnson. Finally, he indicated that he did not intend to extend the regulations imposing isolation for positive cases of Covid-19 when they expire on March 24. This date might even be brought forward. “We don’t legally require people to self-isolate if they have the flu,” he stressed.
A 40% drop in the number of cases over the week
More than 152,000 people have died in the UK from Covid-19. The latest available data shows an almost 40% drop in the number of new weekly cases, while the number of hospitalized patients has stabilized. Now the number of daily cases in the UK is back below 100,000. The number of intensive care patients, which remained low during the Omicron wave, is also falling.
This relaxation of measures considered to be draconian by part of the conservative majority comes sooner than expected. The anti-Covid device was initially to be reviewed on January 26, and in a context of unprecedented crisis for Boris Johnson, mired in the holiday scandal in Downing Street during the confinements.
In the UK, each nation decides its health policy. On Tuesday, the Scottish independence government announced the lifting, from next Monday, of most of the restrictions in place, allowing the reopening of nightclubs and removing the limit to three households for indoor meetings. Teleworking is still recommended.
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For its part, the Welsh government also announced last week a gradual exit from restrictions linked to the virus. Wales has reached the peak of the Omicron wave and cases continue to decline.