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 British Prime Minister’s office- advanced this announcement that the head of government himself, Boris Johnson, will formalize next week, in a strategy that has been criticized by many voices in the scientific community for the risk of triggering the 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-19 will not suddenly go away, and we need to 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 built strong protections against this virus in the last two years through vaccination, testing, treatment and better scientific understanding of the virus.”
In this way, thanks to the number of people who have received the vaccine, “we are in a position to present our plan to live with COVID-19,” he added.
According to official data, almost 53 million people (91% of the population) have received a dose of the vaccine; another 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 needed, as 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 taken 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,” the note stressed.
In the announcement that Johnson will make next week -a priori on Monday-, it is expected that he will focus the new strategy on the elimination of all restrictions, the protection of the vulnerable with pharmacological interventions and tests, monitoring the appearance of new variants and consolidating the innovations that the response to COVID-19 has brought.
According to the Office for National Statistics, one in 20 people in England was infected with the coronavirus last week.
The Labor opposition has received 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 Health spokesman 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.
–
