The decision was announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday; teleworking will also no longer be suggested from next week in England

Amid a controversy involving his participation in parties during the lockdown in United Kingdom, the prime minister Boris Johnson announced this Wednesday, 19th, that it will relax part of the restrictions against Covid-19 in England. Starting next week, the use of masks will no longer be mandatory and teleworking will no longer be required in the country. Self-isolation, which was announced until March, continues to be suggested for citizens, but the prime minister said he does not intend to extend the period and can end it sooner if necessary. “Because of our extraordinary third dose campaign, the way we all responded to ‘plan B’, we will be able to go back to ‘plan A'”, explained the minister in Parliament, stressing that the health passport to enter establishments would no longer be mandatory, but could still be applied by the owners of bars and restaurants who found it necessary.
For analysts, Johnson’s decision in the midst of the “Omicron wave” is a strategy to try to please fellow conservatives opposed to isolation measures in the pandemic. This is because he faces a wave of resignation requests for his participation in parties during the period of the lockdown announced by the government still in 2020 and in 2021. dissatisfaction directed at him, a sign that, even if he does not leave power, the president must face months of unpopularity with the population and among his own. According to the Our World In Data platform, more than 70% of the country’s population is fully vaccinated and the nation, which on January 6 had a new peak of cases with more than 170,000 infections in 24 hours, registers 15 .4 million cases and 153 thousand deaths from the disease since the beginning of the pandemic.