England is preparing to "live with the virus".
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that he hoped to be able to lift the obligation to isolate themselves for people positive for the coronavirus before the end of February.
“Provided the current encouraging trends continue, I expect that we will be able to lift the remaining national restrictions, including the legal obligation to self-isolate in the event of a positive test, with a month in advance,” said he declared.
Speaking to MPs during the weekly question and answer session, the Conservative leader announced that he wanted to return to Parliament on February 21, after the parliamentary recess, to present his "strategy for living with Covid".
According to Mr Johnson's spokesperson, the possible lifting of mandatory isolation is justified by "the fall in the number of cases and hospitalizations".
However, he specified that the legislation imposing it could be restored “in extremis” to deal with a new variant.
The end of restrictions
The United Kingdom, whose government has been calling for several weeks to live with Covid as it does with the flu, was among the first in Europe to try to return to pre-pandemic life, relying on high vaccination coverage, such as Denmark or Sweden.
On January 19, Boris Johnson, currently mired in a scandal over parties organized in Downing Street during the confinements, had committed England to the lifting of most restrictions, hardened in the face of the Omicron wave, such as teleworking or wearing mandatory mask.
He added that he did not intend to renew the law making it mandatory to isolate themselves for people who tested positive, which expires on March 24.
Read alsoCovid-19: has the United Kingdom really reached the peak of its Omicron wave?
In January, the mandatory quarantine had already been reduced from a minimum of seven days to five days, subject to a negative test.
Contact cases, on the other hand, no longer need to isolate themselves if they are fully vaccinated.
One of the most bereaved countries in Europe with more than 158,600 dead, the United Kingdom suffered a wave of the Omicron variant at the turn of the year with records of daily contaminations, peaking at more than 200,000, but positive cases have started to decline sharply, and hospitalizations are also declining.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) had estimated that, thanks to the current strong immunity across Europe and the lesser severity of Omicron, the continent was in a situation of "ceasefire which could bring us lasting peace”.