British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday the end of all the restrictions that were still in force against COVID-19, including the obligation to isolate for those infected, as part of his announced plan to “live with the coronavirus” .
Queen Elizabeth II, positive for COVID-19
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The British Government met on Monday to approve the project and Johnson subsequently informed Parliament.
As announced by the prime minister to parliamentarians, those infected with COVID-19 will no longer be forced to isolate themselves in England from next Thursday, February 24.
Another of the measures most criticized by the opposition and the scientific community that Johnson has confirmed before the deputies is the end of free antigen tests as of April 1, except for symptomatic cases in the most vulnerable populations and older.
“The budget for tests, tracking and isolation exceeded the entire budget of the Ministry of the Interior. We must reduce it. In this year it has cost 15.7 billion and 2 billion in January alone, in the midst of an omicron wave,” said the leader tory.
Johnson has argued in the House of Commons that immunity levels are high and deaths are low and that is why restrictions can be lifted. “The restrictions take a heavy toll on our economy, our society, our mental well-being and all of our children’s life chances, and we don’t have to continue to pay this price.”
“We have a population protected by the largest vaccination program in our history. We have the advantage of treatments and scientific understanding of this virus and we have the ability to respond quickly to any resurgence or new variants,” he said.
The announcement of the plan to eliminate the latest restrictions has occurred in parallel to the fact that Queen Elizabeth II, 95, has been infected with the disease and has “mild symptoms, similar to a cold”.
The Government has argued in recent days that after the “successful vaccination program”, the country is “in a strong position to consider lifting the remaining legal restrictions, when more than 81% of adults have already received a dose of reinforcement in England and the cases continue to fall”. Despite everything, the Executive has recognized that the pandemic continues and that there is “considerable uncertainty” about its future in the United Kingdom.
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