End of restrictions in Great Britain. Huge savings in the background

The lack of a legal requirement for self-isolation after detection of coronavirus infection, the end of free antigen tests, the lifting of the obligation of vaccinated co-household members of a COVID-19 patient to be tested and contact tracing – these are the most important changes that are taking place in the UK in the area of ​​covid restrictions.

1. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Announces Pandemic Recovery Strategy and “Living After COVID-19”
2. In his opinion, the situation in the country allows for a transition from top-down prescriptions to recommendations based on personal and social responsibility
3. The most important change, which is coming into force as early as next Thursday (February 24), is the lifting of the legal requirement to undergo self-isolation in the event of confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The government still recommends it, but it will no longer be obligatory
4. The average coronavirus infections in the UK over the last seven days is currently around 45. That’s twice less than two weeks ago
5. Check your health. Just answer these questions
6. You can find more such information on the TvoiLokony home page

The pandemic costs money

Boris Johnson spoke about the changes in the restrictions in the House of Commons. As he said, in the current epidemic situation in Great Britain, changes can already be implemented, consisting in easing covid restrictions. «Thanks to the efforts that we have made as a country over the past two years, we can now deal with this problem in a completely different way, moving from government restrictions to personal responsibilityso that we protect ourselves without losing our abilities, while maintaining a range of capabilities to react quickly to each new option, ”he said.

Some changes have already become reality. From today (February 22) teachers and students of educational institutions do not have to perform rapid tests for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Until now, they were subjected to such tests twice a week.

1. See also: They have a referral, they didn’t take the test. 250 thousand Poles in the gray zone

From April 1, there will no longer be universal access to free antigen testing. They are intended for the most susceptible to infection and seniors. According to preliminary findings from British media, a pack of seven home COVID-19 tests is expected to cost around £ 20. In order to prevent citizens from buying and accumulating tests, a limit will be introduced: one package will be available for purchase once every three days, not once a day.

As the British prime minister said in the testing change, it is not only about better covid statistics, but also about the costs the country incurs in this area. Free, public home testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection costs £ 2 billion a month in the UK.

Such high costs are the result of mass testing in which the British were a model for all of Europe. At the peak of the Omicron wave, more than 1,8 million tests were performed a day, and even before that, this number rarely fell below 1 million.

The rest of the article is available under the video.

Isolation and quarantine – only for those willing

The biggest change proposed by the prime minister is the lifting of the obligation to serve in isolation due to COVID-19. Until now, it was a legal requirement – if the system received a positive PCR or antigen test result, the patient was automatically referred for a 10-day isolation period. From February 24, there will be no such obligation, although the government recommends self-isolation in the spirit of personal and social responsibility, as it should be in the case of flu or even a common cold, i.e. diseases with which we can easily infect others.

1. Prof. Witt: Coronavirus is not the flu, easing restrictions is a risky move

Another change comes into effect in England on the same day. After contact with the infected, vaccinated people will no longer be asked to perform daily coronavirus tests, and unvaccinated people will not be quarantined. The government also plans to give up tracking contacts infected with the coronavirus, and covid certificates will be used voluntarily.

There are also plans to update work safety regulations in connection with the spread of the coronavirus. Details are not yet known. At the moment it is only known that the rules on sickness benefit for the infected will no longer apply.

All changes are yet to be approved by the British parliament.

Is it too early?

Lifting the covid restrictions in January raised a lot of controversy among British experts – virologists and doctors. As Dr. Emilia C. Skirmuntt, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Oxford, told Medonet, government decisions are more political than based on any scientific data.

– Unfortunately, what the government is doing has been criticized by almost all experts. The fact that the restrictions are lifted is more of a political decision, not backed by scientific data. The number of cases is actually declining, but not everywhere. There are fewer infections in London, but in the north of the country, for example, it does not look so rosy anymore. Unfortunately, we do not know what the epidemic situation looks like, because the British are not testing themselves as eagerly as before. Until now it was recommended to test twice a week – rapid antigen tests were widely available – and now there is no such pressure. Soon there will also be no obligation to test people arriving in the UK. So it is difficult to say how many infections are real – said the expert.

The virologist pointed out that to be able to talk about pandemic control, the percentage of positive tests in relation to all performed should be less than 5%. In January, when it started to bear in the UK restrictions, this ratio was over 20 percent. Today it is about 7 percent.

At the same time, we encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time we were talking about breathing. Breathe with your mouth or nose? How To Get Rid Of Bad Breathing Habits? What is respiratory reduction and how does it affect our mental and physical health? You will hear about this and many other aspects of breathing below.

See also:

1. Dr inż. Rakowski: In my opinion, the end of the pandemic is just now happening
2. What happens when we are all infected with Omicron? Prof. Simon: It’s possible
3. Prof. Gut: The virus is no longer socially dangerous
4. Fourth dose for everyone? Clear position of the European Medicines Agency