Johnson wants to dispense with new restrictions despite record numbers

LONDON (dpa-AFX) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to live without stricter restrictions despite the record number of new coronavirus infections in England. The Conservative politician announced in London on Tuesday that he would stick to the so-called Plan B. This includes mask requirements indoors, a recommendation for working from home, and 3-G certifications (ie: vaccinated, restored or tested) for major clubs and events. The plan had been in place for several weeks.

Many experts are calling for stricter measures to prevent an overburdening of the health system, as is already being proposed in some clinics. Because of the high number of new infections, many hospitals are absent. More than 218,000 new infections were reported in the UK on Tuesday. This includes some late registrations from the past few days. The seven-day infection rate – the number of new infections per 100,000 people in a week – was last at 1,597 (as of December 30).

Johnson justifies his position by the fact that it has now been shown that the omicron variant prevalent in England and Scotland causes milder cycles of Covid-19. There will not be many infected people in intensive care units. She said that nine out of 10 patients in intensive care units have not yet received a booster vaccine. Johnson again called on his countrymen to get a booster vaccine. / swe / DP / she