All you need to know about Covid in the UK today.
By Solveig von Wittenburg
Entry Requirements are lifted
Earlier this week the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, announced that all remaining COVID-19 restrictions on international travel will be lifted on Friday morning at 4am, 18 March. Now having no entry requirements, the UK has almost completed its last step from the governments “Our plan for living with Covid”.
But what has changed during the last four weeks and when will the UK go back to normal?
Covid restrictions which have been removed so far
Back in Feburary the British government published a plan to live with Covid focusing on removing domestic restrictions, protecting vulnerable citizens, maintaining resilience against new variants by reintroducing mass testing and vaccination just in case and investing in life sciences to secure innovations and opportunities learned from the COVID-19 response.
A timeline:
On 21 February the British government has published “Our plan for living with Covid” making big changes in England regarding covid rules and restrictions until April. On top of that students and staff in educational institutions as well as in childcare settings do not have to test twice a week.
On 24 February all domestic legal restrictions have ended in England, meaning there is no need to self-isolate after testing positive with Covid. Daily testing is not required anymore. The government only has advised to stay at home. When dining out, people do not have to check in on the NHS COVID-19 app. Additionally, the Test and Trace Support Scheme has come to an end as well, stopping financial aid to low income households or national funding for support including medicine delivery service.
On 18 March from 4am people travelling from abroad are not required to take any COVID-19 tests prior or after their journey to the United Kingdom. The same applies to passenger locator forms. It does not matter what their vaccination status is.
What’s next?
There are some changes ahead. According to the British Government on 24 March, COVID-19 provisions within the Statutory Sick Pay and Employment and Support Allowance regulations will be removed. Following these steps, the Government plans to remove the guidance on voluntary COVID-19 status certification in domestic settings.
Moreover, the recommendation to use the NHS COVID PASS will be removed as well as the health and safety requirements for Covid, employers should have considered in their risk assessment. Additionally, it was announced there will be no providing of any free testing for the public.
New record high in Covid cases across the UK
Over the last couple of weeks, a rise in Covid cases is seen throughout the country. The UK has reached a new record high with 226,524 new cases which include positive tests from the weekend, according to the Department of Health. In Scotland the rate of hospitalisation is at its peak due to Covid. A possible connection might be the new subvariant of Omicron, called BA.2 also known as Deltacron. This new strain was first found in France but is now seen more and more around the world including the UK.
Source: John Hopkins University and Medicine Reuters
Going back to normal?
Although cases are on the rise, it seems like the UK is going back to normal on 1 April. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, emphasizes in his plan to continue tackling the virus with the vaccine as “the first line of defence” and administering boosters. By now, over 140 million vaccinations have been given in the United Kingdom, whereas about 49 million British citizens have received their second dose of the vaccine and about 38 million their booster. According to the British government “the UK is in the strongest possible position to learn how to live with Covid” giving a positive outlook for the future.
To stay up to date with information regarding the pandemic, make sure to check the Gov.uk website.