Face masks will no longer be mandatory in public places and schools in England and COVID-19 passports will be dropped for large events as infections level off in large parts of the country, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday.
Johnson told lawmakers that the restrictions were being eased because government scientists believed it was likely that the surge of infections prompted by the highly contagious Omicron variant “has now peaked nationally.” While hospitals in northern England are still under pressure because of high caseloads, Johnson said hospital admissions and patients in intensive care units elsewhere in England were stabilizing or falling.
The government will no longer advise people to work from home and beginning next Thursday mandatory COVID-19 passes will not be required to gain entry to large-scale events. Read more: Boris Johnson fights to shore up support against leadership challenge over lockdown parties Compulsory face masks will be scrapped in classrooms starting Thursday as well, and from next week they will not be legally required anywhere in England. “We will trust the judgment of the British people and no longer criminalize anyone who chooses not to wear one,” Johnson said.
The restrictions were introduced in December to slow the rapid spread of Omicron variant and buy time for the population to get their booster vaccine shot.