Boris Johnson makes  rebel-pleasing covid move

AFP- London -No more masks and health passports. England recovered almost normalcy on Thursday with the lifting of restrictions, thanks to an improvement in the pandemic that will soon see tests of travelers and quarantines of those infected also disappear.

“It’s time to have a normal life, it’s been almost two years,” Julia, a 28-year-old Spaniard who works in a restaurant near Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

Recalling that “in Spain you have to wear the mask everywhere, even if there is no one on the street”, assuring she “prefers the British restrictions”.

But some, like 57-year-old lighting designer James Hughes, are wary.

“I don’t think we’re back to normal, I’m worried there’s still a virus out there and I’m not sure people take it seriously now,” he says. “I will wear the mask all day when I am in a place” that is crowded, he says.

The wearing of masks is no longer mandatory indoors – but some businesses may advise or require it, such as the London Underground. And it is at the discretion of venues such as nightclubs or sports stadiums to ask for health passports at the entrance.

The government also announced Thursday that nursing homes will be able to receive an unlimited number of visitors from Monday.

These measures, among the lightest in Europe, were introduced by the government of Boris Johnson in mid-December, despite the opposition of a good part of his own deputies, seeking to gain time to administer more vaccines against the Omicron variant.

Partygate
Johnson announced the removal last week, among other decisions aimed at pleasing the most liberal ranks of his Conservative Party, where numerous MP’s are considering launching a motion of censure against him for violating the confinements in the last two years with numerous parties in Downing Street.

The relaxation comes taking advantage of the fact that “hospital admissions stabilize, Omicron infections decrease and the number of people in intensive care with covid-19 continues to decline,” the government stressed.

One of the countries hardest hit by Covid-19, with 154,700 deaths since the start of the pandemic, the United Kingdom recorded 102,292 new cases on Wednesday among a population of 67 million.

The other three nations that make up the UK and decide their own health policies also lifted some restrictions: from Monday Scotland no longer limits meetings, Wales will reopen nightclubs on Friday and Northern Ireland did so on Wednesday although it continues to require health passports.

Open for Business
The flexibility does not stop there. “This country is open to business, open to travelers,” said Johnson, eager to reactivate the economy and satisfy sectors such as air transport and tourism, announcing that as of February 11, visitors with a full schedule of vaccination will no longer need to undergo a covid-19 test on arrival in England.

And, going further, last week he stated that he will not extend the regulations that impose a quarantine of between 5 and 10 days on positive cases. It expires on March 24, but its removal could even come earlier, he said.

However, the scientists warned of the possibility of more virulent mutations in the future.

“As we learn to live with covid, we must remain alert,” said Minister of Health, Sajid Javid.