LONDON: England on Thursday lifted the restrictions of Coronavirus imposed to overcome the omicron variant, with masks no longer needed in closed places and vaccine passports.
The number of positive Covid-19 cases has fallen sharply for the past two weeks, and although still at a high level, has added dollars in the past few days.
The British government introduced what was called “Plan B” Restrictions on December 8, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned “tidal wave” that towered from Omicron.
Face masks are needed in all closed and controversial rooms, vaccine documentation also to enter places such as nightclubs, soccer fields and large-scale events.
On the streets of London around the St Paul Cathedral, there is general support for removal of restrictions, which comes after more than 37 million people have Jab Booster.
“I think this is a very good thing,” said Elizabeth Hynes, 71, who came from Ireland but had lived in England for 47 years.
“I went to the elevator here at St. Paul’s and I was looking at all the shows” advertised, he said about posters inside the underground station.
“And I think ‘how beautiful, it’s like the past’.
“It looks like we will return to how London, and you realize how much you miss the Live Theater and a fantastic show.”
Hynes said he had stage 4-4 melanoma skin cancer, but so far “lucky” and not caught Covid.
“We don’t know about tomorrow, we have to live … for today, trying to get a little pleasure from life,” he added.
Julia, 28, from Spain, said it was time to “have a normal life”.
“It’s been two years and it’s time to be responsible for themselves,” he said when he waited for St Paul’s restaurant where he worked to open.
“In Spain we need to wear masks everywhere, even on the road,” he added.
Even if “There is no one on the road … You have to wear a mask. On the beach, you have to wear a mask.
“I prefer British restrictions because it would be very difficult to visit the family there. I was fully vaccinated but I didn’t want to get a vaccine every nine months.”
‘Traumatic’
England previously raised restrictions on July 19, called “Freedom Day”, but then introduced the new rules when the Omicron wave arrived.
Health Minister Sajid Javid edited the country booster program to allow restrictions to be lifted.
“Our vaccines, testing, and antivirus ensure we have some of the strongest defense in Europe and allow us to carefully re-plan, restore more freedom to this country,” he said.
Starting on Thursday, passengers on the London transportation network will still be asked to use facial masks but they will no longer be mandatory in the secondary school classroom.
“It was traumatic for them, they could not hear the teachers, the teachers could not hear it,” Hynes said about the mask rules at school.
US Holidaymaker Ethan Ethan Lets, 24, agreed to the decision of London Major Sadiq Khan to mandate the face cover on the train and the capital bus.
“I still wear a mask with public transportation, I will wear it in a very crowded area like underground. Very tight there, you can hurt anytime,” he said.
Unlike Scotland and Wales, which set their own health policy, Britain keeps the nightclub and an open bar above the celebration period.
But the business was still hit by a severe punishment at home.
Hospitality workers in the business district around St Paul said new things had just started to improve.
“Last week, the business had begun to take it again. Around Christmas is dead,” said Bartender Lewis Colby, 39.
“People are not so scared again, trains are more busy starting to work, people start drinking more.”
Apart from the removal of the limitation, those who tested the positive Koronavirus must remain their own isolation for a minimum of five days.
Johnson said he also hoped for the scrap of the rule when they ended on March 24.