The United Kingdom announced this Wednesday that it is lowering the alert for Covid-19, to the second level on the fifth level, thanks to the minimal impact on health services, the Ministry of Health justified.
The decision was taken on the advice of the Chief Health Officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as the virus continues to spread through the population, but pressures on the health system and transmission are stable or decreasing.
“Hospitals and health systems are usually very busy, but because of the summer surge [estirpes] BA.4 and BA.5 [da variante Ómicron] is slow and direct serious illness due to Covid is now at a much smaller rate,” he explained in a statement.
According to the British government, the number of serious cases, deaths and infection rates have decreased, and although there is a risk of new outbreaks and an increase in cases due to the BA 4.6 and BA.2.75 strains, they are not expected to affect services. Health.
Earlier this year, the executive lifted all restrictions in the UK, including the mandatory use of masks, quarantine for infected people and tests for international travellers, despite the progress of the Ómicron variant, which is still considered highly contagious.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at the time that the success of the vaccination campaign and the discovery of new treatments to keep the virus under control allowed it to move forward with the “Living with Covid” plan.
In the seven days to August 19, 30,318 cases and 620 deaths from Covid-19 were reported, 25.1% and 28.2% less than in the previous seven days, and the trend for hospitalizations fell by 20%, according to the latest data from England. % on August 22.
Overall, 69.2% of the population over 12 years of age had already been vaccinated with three doses of vaccine, 88.1% had received two doses and 93.5% had received a single dose.
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