COVID-19 restrictions are expected to be axed “within days” as Boris Johnson bids to save his premiership.
The Times of London reported that the Government will end Plan B restrictions after Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he hoped to “substantially reduce restrictions” next week.
The health secretary was “cautiously optimistic” about lifting hated measures.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Cabinet will examine the latest Covid-19 data on Wednesday before making a statement in the Commons.
In the UK, the average of reported infections has fallen below 100,000 for the first time since December.
SAGE is also said to be “increasingly confident” that the decline is real despite fewer tests being reported.
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One Government expert told Times Radio: “the pandemic will end and we will move to a situation where we’re living with the virus continuing to transmit but causing much less disruption”.
The Coronavirus is set to become a seasonal illness like the Winter flu.
Professor Andrew Hayward told The Times: “[it will] settle into a seasonal pattern — we may still get quite big winters of infection but not the sort of level where we can justify wholesale societal closedown.”
JABS ARMY
The positive news is also thanks to Covid-19 vaccinations with Britain dubbed one of the “most boosted” in Europe, and the most tested in the EU.
“That is why we are the most open country in Europe.” added Health Secretary Sajid.
“These restrictions should not stay in place a day longer than absolutely necessary”,
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“Due to these pharmaceutical defences and the likelihood that we have already reached the peak of the case numbers of hospitalisations, I am cautiously optimistic that we will be able to substantially reduce restrictions next week.”
“We’ve still got a problem with Covid, we’ve still got 16,000 people in beds. We’ve still got a lot of people who could get protected [with boosters] who need to get protected. We’ve got to be careful.”
The World Health Organisation has also given hope of an end to Covid-19 being in sight.
A WHO spokesman told told Sky News: “Looking at it from a UK point of view, there does appear to be light at the end of the tunnel.”
More follows.
Additional Reporting by The Times, Sky News and the Press Association
