The health secretary has said COVID could be with us forever but he hopes all restrictions can be lifted by March.
Sajid Javid added that we “may well” need an annual coronavirus vaccination, the day after the government announced working from home advice had ended and Plan B restrictions would be lifted next Thursday.
He told Kay Burley on Sky News: “COVID is not going away, it’s going to be with us for many, many years – perhaps forever, and we have to learn to live with it.”
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Asked if he meant to compare the virus with flu during last night’s Downing Street news conference, he said: “Yes, because it was an example of how we need to learn to live with COVID.”
He continued: “Sadly, people die of flu as well. In a bad flu year you can sadly lose about 20,000 lives – but we don’t shut down our entire country and put in place lots of restrictions to deal with it.
“We need to continue with our lives with sensible, appropriate and proportionate measures.”
Read more: Will the gamble pay off? Plan B rules to end in England – but is it too soon?
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What are the new rules in England?
Work from home guidance has been dropped and rules on face masks in schools have been scrapped.
COVID passports and the requirement to wear face-coverings on public transport and in shops will end next Thursday.
Mr Javid said England was returning to Plan A because “Plan B has worked” – largely due to the COVID-19 vaccine booster programme.
“I think we are leading Europe in…
Source : skynews
