London: British Prime Minister boris johnson recommended to his cabinet on Wednesday that England no need to impose further lockdown He hopes to “ride” Omicron as he bans Wave Covid-19, which hit another daily record high with 218,724 infections.
In the first cabinet meeting of the new year, Johnson laid out his plan to continue with Plan B measures, which include mandatory face coverings, work-from-home guidance where possible and checking COVID vaccination certificates for large events.
Johnson also announced plans for 100,000 critical workers to be tested daily from January 10 to closely screen for infections and to address the issue of largely self-isolating staff absenteeism.
“As our NHS moves forward on a war footing, I would recommend to Cabinet that we continue with Plan B,” Johnson said during a Downing Street briefing on Tuesday evening.
“We have a chance to get out of this omicron Wave without shutting down our country once again. We can keep our schools and our businesses open and we can find a way to live with this virus.”
There is speculation that the need for confirmatory PCR tests may be eliminated to follow positive lateral flow antigen tests. It is reported that health officials have drawn up plans to limit PCR tests to people with symptoms, allowing those who are asymptomatic – in about 40 percent of cases – to return to work more quickly. Those who test positive on the Lateral Flow Home Testing Kit will still need to be in isolation for at least seven days.
UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA) So far everyone in England is required to have a follow-up PCR test if they receive a positive lateral flow result and then their isolation period is counted from the date of the PCR result.
“We continue to review PCR availability and continue to make more PCR booking slots available every day,” UKHSA said.
There are also reports that mandatory pre-arrival testing for international travelers coming to England may be abolished, with the travel industry urging the government to change as they have no real interest given the extremely high rate of omicron transmission within the community. No effect.
a UK A government spokesman said they were keeping all measures “under review”, adding that temporary testing requirements were introduced “to prevent additional Omicron cases from entering the UK if they are infected with people.” prevent it from passing on to others”.
Meanwhile, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is facing additional pressure with 12 trusts suspending some less urgent treatments amid staff absenteeism due to Covid-19.
“The NHS is under enormous pressure. When asked about the pressure, Boris Johnson admitted that I would not define what it would be like to be overwhelmed because I think different trusts and different places, at different moments, at least You will feel temporarily overwhelmed.
Reiterating his message to people to come forward for vaccines, the UK prime minister warned that it would be an “absolute foolishness” to say that the pandemic is over, even if it appears that Omicron is “in comparison to other types”. clearly lighter”.
“Given the pressure on the NHS over the next few weeks and probably longer, given the number of people going to hospital, it would be complete foolishness to say that this thing is now completely over,” he said. said.
“We have to be cautious, we have to stick with Plan B, we have to promote,” he said.
According to the latest UK data, fewer people with Omicron are being admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) than previous variants, and most people in hospital with COVID-19 do not have a dose of booster vaccine.
In the first cabinet meeting of the new year, Johnson laid out his plan to continue with Plan B measures, which include mandatory face coverings, work-from-home guidance where possible and checking COVID vaccination certificates for large events.
Johnson also announced plans for 100,000 critical workers to be tested daily from January 10 to closely screen for infections and to address the issue of largely self-isolating staff absenteeism.
“As our NHS moves forward on a war footing, I would recommend to Cabinet that we continue with Plan B,” Johnson said during a Downing Street briefing on Tuesday evening.
“We have a chance to get out of this omicron Wave without shutting down our country once again. We can keep our schools and our businesses open and we can find a way to live with this virus.”
There is speculation that the need for confirmatory PCR tests may be eliminated to follow positive lateral flow antigen tests. It is reported that health officials have drawn up plans to limit PCR tests to people with symptoms, allowing those who are asymptomatic – in about 40 percent of cases – to return to work more quickly. Those who test positive on the Lateral Flow Home Testing Kit will still need to be in isolation for at least seven days.
UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA) So far everyone in England is required to have a follow-up PCR test if they receive a positive lateral flow result and then their isolation period is counted from the date of the PCR result.
“We continue to review PCR availability and continue to make more PCR booking slots available every day,” UKHSA said.
There are also reports that mandatory pre-arrival testing for international travelers coming to England may be abolished, with the travel industry urging the government to change as they have no real interest given the extremely high rate of omicron transmission within the community. No effect.
a UK A government spokesman said they were keeping all measures “under review”, adding that temporary testing requirements were introduced “to prevent additional Omicron cases from entering the UK if they are infected with people.” prevent it from passing on to others”.
Meanwhile, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is facing additional pressure with 12 trusts suspending some less urgent treatments amid staff absenteeism due to Covid-19.
“The NHS is under enormous pressure. When asked about the pressure, Boris Johnson admitted that I would not define what it would be like to be overwhelmed because I think different trusts and different places, at different moments, at least You will feel temporarily overwhelmed.
Reiterating his message to people to come forward for vaccines, the UK prime minister warned that it would be an “absolute foolishness” to say that the pandemic is over, even if it appears that Omicron is “in comparison to other types”. clearly lighter”.
“Given the pressure on the NHS over the next few weeks and probably longer, given the number of people going to hospital, it would be complete foolishness to say that this thing is now completely over,” he said. said.
“We have to be cautious, we have to stick with Plan B, we have to promote,” he said.
According to the latest UK data, fewer people with Omicron are being admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) than previous variants, and most people in hospital with COVID-19 do not have a dose of booster vaccine.
,