England ends Covid restrictions, including mask-wearing [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Covid restrictions in England will be lifted.
• Johnson said plan B measures will stop on January 26, including mandatory mask-wearing, work from home guidance and vaccine passports.
• UK’s Health Secretary said the virus is still here, but “we must learn to live with Covid in the same way we live with flu”.

England’s Plan B measures will end on January 26, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday. That means mandatory wearing of face masks and showing proof of vaccination to enter public spaces such as nightclubs will be dropped.

Johnson also said the government will also end its advice for people to work from home.

The PM said England was reverting to “Plan A” due to boosters and how people had followed Plan B measures.

He told Members of Parliament that scientists believed the Omicron wave had peaked nationally.

At a Downing Street press conference, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This is a moment we can all be proud of. It’s a reminder of what this country can accomplish when we all work together.”

But, he said, this should not be seen as the “finish line” because the virus and future variants cannot be eradicated – instead “we must learn to live with Covid in the same way we live with flu”.

He urged people to continue taking steps to keep the virus at bay, including hand washing, ventilating rooms and self-isolating if positive – and pressed those who were unvaccinated to come forward to get their jabs.

Face masks will no longer be mandated anywhere, Johnson said, although the government will still suggest masks are worn in enclosed or crowded spaces.

The wearing of masks in school classrooms will be dropped starting Thursday.

Further announcements on the easing of travel rules and restrictions on care home visits in England are expected in the coming days, Johnson added.

The prime minister also said the government intended to end the legal requirement for people who test positive for Covid to self-isolate – and replace it with advice and guidance.

The current regulations around self-isolation expire on March 24. Johnson said he expected not to renew them then – and suggested that date could be brought forward if the data allows.

Looking ahead, Johnson said the government would set out its long-term strategy for living with coronavirus.

He urged people to “remain cautious” during the last weeks of winter as there were still “significant pressures” on the NHS and the pandemic was “not over”.

Source: BBC