London: England has lifted restrictions imposed to tackle the omicron variant, on Thursday. This includes wearing masks in enclosed places, and requirement of vaccine passports.
England has seen a sharp fall in the number of new positive cases in the past few weeks in comparison to the weeks before that.
The UK government introduced the “Plan B” restrictions on December 8, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned of a looming “tidal wave” of Omicron. It was required to wear face masks in all enclosed spaces along with the vaccine certificate to enter places like football grounds, large scale events, nightclubs, bars etc
On the streets of London around St Paul’s Cathedral, there was general support for the lifting of restrictions, which came after more than 37 million people had booster jabs. People expressed their happiness on the recent development ” it’s like old times’. I think it’s a really good thing,” said Junia Hynes, 71, who is originally from Ireland but has lived in England for 47 years.
England previously lifted restrictions on July 19, so-called “Freedom Day”, but then introduced new rules as the Omicron wave arrived. Despite the lifting of restrictions, those who test positive for coronavirus must still self-isolate for a minimum of five days.
