England is about to ease its epidemic measures, and Johnson said that the new crown is becoming a local epidemic

Reporter Cui Puyu

As the number of Cases in Omicron begins to decline, British Prime Minister Johnson said on Wednesday that from next week England will ease restrictions on covid-19, no longer requiring masks and vaccination certificates, and the proposal to work from home will be withdrawn.

Those restrictions were originally scheduled to expire on Jan. 26, but by announcing the relaxation measures this week, Johnson could divert some of the attention from the Downing Street party scandal.

During the "lockdown" imposed on the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK last May, Johnson's secretary organized a cocktail party at 10 Downing Street, attended by about 40 government officials, and Johnson himself stayed at the party for 25 minutes. Johnson admitted on January 12 of this year that he had violated the epidemic rules to attend the party, and said he thought he was attending a work event, but he apologized for it.

Since the party came to light, the leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party has publicly stated that Johnson should "resign in order to be decent".

Johnson noted Wednesday that as covid-19 shifts from a global pandemic to an endemic, they will replace legal requirements with advice and guidance, and urged people living with the virus to be careful and think for the sake of others.

Johnson said a robust vaccine-boosted vaccination program, widespread testing and a drop in the number of COVID-19 cases were the main reasons for their decision to change their policies. But scientists and public health experts still warn that it's too early to claim that the coronavirus is part of everyday life.

At the same time, the government also plans to prematurely end the legal provision requiring self-isolation after infection, which was supposed to expire on March 24. For example, Johnson said the law does not require people infected with the flu to self-isolate.

With the case spike caused by TheOmilon, England began implementing Plan B in December last year. Under the plan, people are advised to work from home whenever possible, wear masks in most indoor public places such as public transport, shops, theaters and movie theaters, and have a vaccine pass to enter nightclubs and crowded establishments.

These measures have been accompanied by a massive increase in vaccination in the UK. The number of infections in the UK has also declined as boosters restore vaccine protection lost due to weakened immunity and against more contagious variants.

At the peak of the Aumechjong at the beginning of this year, the UK added more than 200,000 new CASEs of COVID-19 every day. On Tuesday, the number of new cases per day in the UK fell to 94,000.

In addition, although the UK government says that 17,000 people in England alone are still hospitalized for COVID-19, oxford University's "Look at the World with Data" website shows that the number of daily hospitalizations for COVID-19 has also begun to decline since its peak on January 9.

Virologists generally expect that because of the stronger transmissibility of Omilon, the increase and decline in cases caused by it should be shorter in duration and more volatile than in other variants before. And, despite being more easily transmitted, the severity of the disease caused by the variant has so far diminished, so hospitalizations and deaths have not surged as cases have increased.

In addition, there are early signs that the Wave of the Omiljung outbreak has also peaked in some US states. But the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that the pandemic will not end with the demise of Aumicron in some countries.

New cases are still increasing dramatically in many European countries. France reported 464,000 new infections on Tuesday, the highest since the outbreak began. Germany reported more than 100,000 cases on Wednesday, also a national record.

The Netherlands is still partially imposing restrictions. On Tuesday, the country reported 31,000 confirmed cases, down from the record of about 42,000 cases set at the beginning of the week.

On Friday, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte announced the reopening of non-essential shops, hairdressers, beauty salons and gyms, noting that "we are taking a big step, which also means we are taking a big risk". The country's bars, restaurants and cultural venues will remain closed until at least January 25.