England lifts Covid-19 rules as Omicron threat appears to recede
- England ends ‘Plan B’ measures introduced in early December to stop Omicron from overwhelming health service
- Health minister credited the country’s vaccine booster programme for allowing restrictions to be lifted
England on Thursday lifted coronavirus restrictions imposed to tackle the Omicron variant, with masks no longer required in enclosed places and vaccine passports shelved.
The number of positive Covid-19 cases has fallen sharply over the past two weeks, and although still at high levels, have plateaued in recent days.
The UK government introduced the so-called “Plan B” restrictions on December 8, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of a looming “tidal wave” of Omicron.
Face masks were required in all enclosed spaces and, controversially, vaccine documentation also was to enter places such as nightclubs, football grounds and large-scale events.
But Johnson said last week that the surge of Omicron infections “has now peaked nationally”.
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Hospital admissions and the number of people in intensive care units have stabilised or fallen, and daily cases have fallen from a peak of over 200,000 cases a day around New Year to under 100,000 in recent days.