Dr Susan Hopkins, UKHSA’s Chief Medical Officer, speaks now.

The number of cases in December-January, there were three times the number of cases than the same period last year during the Alpha wave, she said.

The most recent 7-day average is 93,210 cases per day, a substantial drop from the Dec. 29 peak of nearly 220,000 cases, she said.

This is a milestone, not the finish line, says Javid, because we cannot eradicate the virus and its future variants.

The government will present its long-term plan for living with Covid in the spring, he says.

A pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint, he says.

The government is also looking to replace legal requirements for self-isolation with guidance and advice, Javid said.

In the coming days he will outline plans to further ease restrictions on visits to care homes, he says.

These data support a return to Plan A, he says.

Effective immediately, the government has ended its work-from-home guidelines, he says.

From next Thursday compulsory certifications based on vaccines and testing will end, but organizations can still choose to use the NHS Covid pass voluntarily, it says.

Also from next Thursday, the wearing of face masks will no longer be compulsory, but the government will continue to suggest that they be worn in enclosed and crowded places, especially when coming into contact with people you do not meet. normally, he said.

From tomorrow, face coverings will no longer have to be worn in classrooms, and the Department of Education will soon remove guidance on their use in common areas, he says.

The plan worked and Omicron is in retirement, says Javid.

ONS data shows a drop in infections and hospitalizations, he says.

The number of intensive care patients with Covid is now at the same level as it was in July, he says.

Instead of another lockdown, we have Plan B emergency measures in place, he says, leaving us with far fewer restrictions than most of Europe and buying us time against Omicron.

Since then, 15 million people have been boosted, he says.

Testing capacity has also been expanded, he says.

We also got more antiviral treatments, he says.

The warm weather reopening in July showed us how to live with Covid, he says.

Four months later, when Omicron was identified, the number of cases reached record levels – more than a third of the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK have occurred in the past 8 weeks , he said.

Javid speaks now.

Thanks to the progress we have all made, he says, we will lift the Plan B restrictions and return to Plan A.