London [UK], January 20 (ANI): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday (local time) announced the end of COVID-19 measures including mandatory face masks in England. “Our scientists believe that is likely that Omicron wave has now peaked nationally. From now on, Govt is no longer asking people to work from home,” he said.
Johnson further said that the UK was the first nation in the world to administer a vaccine, and one of the fastest in Europe to roll it out. “This was because we made the big call to pursue our own vaccine procurement, outside of the European Medicines Agency (EMA),” said Johnson. “We made the tough decision to open up last summer when others said that we shouldn’t, and kept open this winter while others locked down. As a result, we have the most open economy and society in Europe, and the fastest-growing economy in the G7,” added Johnson.
The UK PM also said that they are the first nation to emerge from the Omicron wave because it focused on NHS on delivering the fastest booster campaign in Europe. “And it is because of the extraordinary booster campaign – together with the way the public has responded to the Plan B measures – that we can return to Plan A in England and allow Plan B regulations to expire,” said Johnson.
Plan B measures refer to legally enforced face masks, mandatory COVID passes and advice to work from home. Johnson also said that his “government got the big things right”. He said, “Confronted by the nation’s biggest challenge since the Second World War and the worst pandemic since 1918, any government would get some things wrong.”
The move comes amid a peak in COVID-19 cases in the UK and his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings accusations that the British prime minister lied to the parliament that he thought a drinks party held in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown was work-related. “On 18 January 94,432 new cases and 438 deaths in 28 days of a positive test were reported in the UK,” tweeted UK Health Security Agency.
A total of 52,133,611 people have now received the first dose of a vaccine, while 47,989,635 people have now received the second dose of a vaccine. Meanwhile, 36,546,583 people have received a booster dose, added UK Health Security Agency. UK was the first country to raise alarm over COVID-19 mutations, to limit international travel over the Omicron variant, and in December introduced work-at-home advice, more mask-wearing and vaccine passes to slow its spread. (ANI)
France to ease COVID-19 restrictions in February
Paris [France], January 21 (ANI/Xinhua): French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Thursday evening that the government will proceed to ease certain COVID-19 related restrictions in February. During a press conference, Castex stressed that the Omicron variant “is absolutely not just a flu.”
He once again recalled the importance of being vaccinated, saying that a fully vaccinated person is 4.5 times more unlikely to be infected than a non-vaccinated, and has 25 times less chance to turn into severe cases. Castex announced that the vaccine pass, replacing the current health pass, will be effective on Jan. 24, subject to the decision of the Constitutional Council on Friday.
The vaccine pass enables people to gain access to public venues without the need to present a negative COVID-19 test. As for access to nursing homes and hospitals, the vaccine pass won’t be mandatory. Children between the ages of 12 to 15 can present a health pass and not a vaccine pass, the Prime Minister added.
He reminded that, effective from Feb. 15, all persons that haven’t received the booster shot four month following the second dose will not be considered as having a complete vaccination cycle. However, Castex announced that starting from February, certain restriction measures will be eased. From Feb. 2, caps on the number of people allowed in indoor and outdoor events will be lifted. Masks will no longer be required outdoors.
Teleworking will also no longer be mandatory, but still encouraged, he added. Starting from Feb. 16, eating and drinking in stadiums, cinemas, public transports will again be allowed, as well as standing in bars, concerts and the opening of nightclubs.
The Scientific Council announced in a statement on Thursday that “the fifth wave with the Omicron variant is not over and its impact on the healthcare system will remain high but partially manageable until mid-March.” In the evening, the French Public Health Agency reported 425,183 new COVID-19 cases detected in the past 24 hours. More than 52 million people have had a complete vaccination cycle, representing 77.7 percent of the French population. (ANI/Xinhua)
