England will remove from next week all restrictions still in place against COVID-19, including the obligation to isolate for those infected with the disease. Downing Street -the office of the British Prime Minister- advanced this announcement that the head of the Government himself, Boris Johnsonwill formalize next week, in a strategy that has been criticized by many in the scientific community for the risk of triggering virus transmission.
The British Government said in a statement that thanks to the greater understanding of the virus and the successful vaccination campaign, England “can now move from government intervention to individual responsibility“.
“COVID will not suddenly go away, and we need learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms,” Johnson said, according to the note. In the prime minister’s opinion, his country “has erected strong protections against this virus in the last two years through vaccination, testing, treatment and better scientific understanding of the virus.
Thus, thanks to the number of people who have received the vaccine, “we are in a position to present our plan to live with COVID this week,” he added.
According to official data, almost 53 million people (91% of the population) have received a dose of the vaccine; others 49 million (85%), two; and 38 million already have the reinforcement puncture.
The Executive announced that the surveillance systems and contingency measures will be maintained to be used if neededas well as a wide capacity for testing or vaccination programs to respond to new variants.
The conservative government recalled the “significant toll“that restrictions such as confinements have been charged in the last two years, which have had consequences on the education of the little ones or the mental health of the population.
“Public responsibility and awareness of public health guidelines should remain, as is the case with all infectious diseases, such as the flu“, underlined the note.
In Johnson’s announcement next week – a priori on Monday – he is expected to focus the new strategy on removal of all restrictionsthe protection of the vulnerable with pharmacological interventions and tests, monitor the appearance of new variants and consolidate the innovations that the response to COVID has brought.
According to the National Statistics Office, one in 20 people in England was infected with the coronavirus last week. The Labor opposition has received with skepticism Johnson’s announcement that he intends, in his opinion, to hide the Prime Minister’s problems due to the parties that were held in Downing Street during the pandemic.
Labor spokesman for Health, Wes Streeting, accused Johnson of “declaring victory before the war is over”. The regional authorities of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland must decide whether to follow the example of England and eliminate the restrictions, although the Welsh Minister of Health has already criticized the possible measure -not yet confirmed- to stop providing antigen tests Free to the general population.
Source: Lasexta
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