Face masks are not mandatory in England
On Thursday, Most of the coronavirus restrictions including mandatory face masks were lifted in England, after Britain's government said that its vaccine booster dose successfully reduced serious illness and Covid-19 hospitalisations.
From Thursday, covering face is no longer required by law anywhere in England, and a legal requirement for COVID passes for entry into nightclubs and other large venues has also been scrapped.
The government last week dropped its advice for people to work from home as well as guidance for face coverings in schools.
The "Plan B" measures were introduced in early December to stop the rapid spread of the Omicron variant from affecting health services and to buy time for the population to get its booster vaccine shot.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government's vaccine rollout, testing and development of antiviral treatments combine to make "some of the strongest defences in Europe", allowing a "cautious return" to normal.
But he further added that "as we learn to live with Covid, we need to be clear-eyed that this virus is not going away."
While infections continue to fall, health officials said that Omicron remained prevalent across the country, especially among children and the elderly age people.
Officials said that almost 84 per cent of people over 12 years old in the UKare fully vaccinated, and that of those eligible, 81 per cent have received their booster shot done.
Hospital admissions and the number of people in ICU have stabilised or fallen, and daily cases have fallen from a peak of over 200,000 cases a day around New Year to under 100,000 in recent days.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week that the surge of Omicron infections "has now peaked nationally".
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said face coverings will still be required in the buses and subway trains.
The legal requirement for those infected to self-isolate for five full days remains, but Johnson said that measure will end soon.
Health officials have said they are planning a longer-term, post-pandemic strategy that treats Covid-19 more like the flu.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which make their own public health rules, have similarly relaxed their virus restrictions.
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