Advertisement

Virus-ravaged nation will allow Covid cases to roam free: 'VERY UNWISE'

While the UK continues to record tens of thousands of Covid-19 cases everyday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week is set to scrap isolation for positive cases.

Mr Johnson said the significant moment in the country's pandemic timeline will allow the country to "protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms" and comes as part of the country's move to live with the virus.

More than 160,000 people in the UK have died from Covid-19 however Mr Johnson says widespread vaccine coverage and natural immunity puts the country in a position to make such a move.

He is set to provide the details of the move in Parliament on Monday (local time).

Brits are well into their transition of living with the virus. Source: Getty
Brits are well into their transition of living with the virus. Source: Getty

Yet there has been strong resistance to the decision, with the World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 Special Envoy Dr David Nabarro branding it "very unwise".

"I don’t understand why that’s been introduced,” he told BBC Radio.

“I appreciate their concerns about absenteeism... but at the same time, what we know about this virus is that it is not good for people and simply just treating it as though it is a harmless virus.

"Myself and colleagues in the World Health Organisation, we think that’s unwise.”

Wes Streeting, health spokesman for the main opposition Labour Party, accused Mr Johnson of "declaring victory before the war is over".

While Omicron cases have significantly dropped, daily cases are still on a par with the UK's third wave. Source: Worldometers
While Omicron cases have significantly dropped, daily cases still on a par with the UK's third wave. Source: Worldometers

Hospitalisations and deaths steady after previous lift

Mr Johnson scrapped a raft of virus restriction in January, and fears of a surge in cases, hospitalisations and deaths did not materialise.

Despite the widespread Omicron outbreak reaching more than 200,000 cases a day at its peak, daily deaths remained in the low hundreds, well shy of the 1,831 daily death record set in January last year.

"Covid-19 will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus," Mr Johnson said.

But the New and Emerging Virus Threats Advisory Group, which advises the government, said last week that the idea viruses become progressively milder "is a common misconception".

It said the milder illness associated with Omicron "is likely a chance event" and future variants could be more severe or evade current vaccines.

There are fears from experts the latest move will see a sudden uptick in infection.

"This is not the time to take risks," said Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, an umbrella group for state-funded health authorities in Britain.

"We need to operate in an evidence-based and incremental way."

With AP

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.