England: After Omicron started to retrieve from the community, authorities in England lifted curbs on Thursday, reverting to its Plan-A- learning to live with a disease that is probably here to stay.
As the caseload registered a sharp drop in the past two weeks, govt bet its vaccine booster rollout successfully reduced serious illness and Covid-19 hospitalizations. From Thursday, masks were not mandated and Vaccination certificates were scrapped. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government’s vaccine rollout, testing and development of antiviral treatments combine to make “some of the strongest defences in Europe,” allowing a “cautious return” to normality. He further added that “as we learn to live with COVID, we need to be clear-eyed that this virus is not going away.” While infections continue to fall, health officials said that omicron remained prevalent across the country, especially among children and the elderly.
The UK Govt had introduced its Plan-B on December 8th, pertaining to which face masks were mandated in all closed spaces, vaccine certificates and vaccine passports were mandated in places of social gatherings and large-scale events. As the government moved away from legal measures, some shops and public transport operators say they will continue to ask people to don their face masks. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said face coverings will still be required on the capital’s buses and subway trains.