Prime Minister Boris Johnson's conservative government is determined to stick to its 'living with COVID' plan, but experts disagree on whether the country is coping well.
Mask requirements have been dropped. Free mass testing is a thing of the past. And for the first time since spring 2020, people can go abroad for holidays without ordering tests or filling out lengthy forms.
Britain stands out in Europe because it ditched all mitigation policies in February, including mandatory self-isolation for those infected. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's conservative government is determined to stick to its "living with COVID" plan, but experts disagree on whether the country is coping well.
Others, like Paul Hunter, a medicine professor at the University of East Anglia, are more supportive of the government's policies. France and Germany have seen similar surges as restrictions eased in most European countries. More than 100,000 people in France were testing positive every day despite a sharp dropoff in testing, and the number of virus patients in intensive care rose 22 per cent over the past week.