No need to test to fly to England now

Boris Johnson warned a serious challenge in front of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, because he relieved the testing rules to free the capacity to overcome the burden of the virus that slid through UK.
Pre-departure tests for vaccinated travelers who enter the UK will be removed since Friday, while people who test positively using a fast home kit no need to take PCR tests to confirm the results from January 11.

“Thanks to the size of the omicron late, we still need to take steps to ensure our test capacity reaches those who need it most,” Johnson told House of Commons on Wednesday. U.K. is “experiencing the fastest growth in the case of covid we have ever known,” he said, while hospital admission “increases rapidly, multiply every nine days.”

Additional 194,747 new cases reported throughout UK. On Wednesday – another diary if data is Tuesday, which includes a stack of cases from the new year’s vacation, excluded.

Even so, Johnson repeated his plan to rely on the touch rules of light to manage Omicron, with the cabinet formally agreed to hold his plan to stick to “plan B” on Wednesday. That was despite the warning from the leaders of national health services that hospitals came under severe pressure.

Critical incident.

More than 20 hospital beliefs currently report “critical incident,” said his office, while Johnson warned that “potentially great concern” is a quick gain in cases among older and more vulnerable people, “with a clear risk will continue. Improve the pressure on our NHS. “

The prime minister is likely to spark new anger from a member of his conservative party in power if he must bring more stringent regulations, and in parliament he repeatedly said he was sure they would not be needed.

Tory MP Steve Baker pressed Johnson about how long the rules he provided on the “Sword of Damocles” would depend on the business and investors, while his colleague Mark Harper asked for a “outgoing strategy” from the sidewalk.

Rules of “Plan B” today – including mandatory face masks in most public indoor places, and guidance to work from home – will be applied until January 26, when Johnson said the steps would be reviewed.

‘Self-confident’

“Whatever the situation – and I’m sure it will be much better – we will continue with the fundamental tools we have; namely vaccination, therapeutic, and testing,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile changes in domestic testing rules mean that the government will effectively rely on people who report the results of home tests to track the pandemic pathway.

It is estimated that around one million people report their lateral flow test results every day; From those who tested positively, between 60% and 80% then proceeded to meet the current requirements to get PCR confirmation.

The question is how many people will continue to report their test results so they are no longer told to get a PCR test, and know that the results of the quick test recorded now are the main components in the official test-and-footprint program.

Even so, scientists generally welcome change given the high prevalence of viruses. “This is a reasonable approach during positive results reported and the lateral flow kit in a good supply,” said Lawrence Young, a virology at the University of Warwick, said in a statement.