Living with COVID: Experts divided on UK plan as cases soar & More News Here

LONDON (AP) — For many within the U.Ok., the pandemic might as properly be over.

Mask necessities have been dropped. Free mass testing is a factor of the previous. And for the primary time since spring 2020, folks can go overseas for holidays with out ordering assessments or filling out prolonged varieties.

That sense of freedom is widespread even as infections soared in Britain in March, pushed by the milder however extra transmissible omicron BA.2 variant that’s quickly spreading round Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere.

The state of affairs within the U.Ok. might portend what lies forward for different international locations as they ease coronavirus restrictions.

France and Germany have seen comparable spikes in infections in latest weeks, and the variety of hospitalizations within the U.Ok. and France has once more climbed — although the variety of deaths per day stays properly under ranges seen earlier within the pandemic.

In the U.S., an increasing number of Americans are testing at residence, so official case numbers are doubtless an unlimited undercount. The roster of these newly contaminated embrace actors and politicians, who’re examined recurrently. Cabinet members, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Broadway actors and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut have all examined optimistic.

Britain stands out in Europe as a result of it ditched all mitigation insurance policies in February, together with obligatory self-isolation for these contaminated. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conservative authorities is set to stay to its “living with COVID” plan, however specialists disagree on whether or not the nation is coping properly.

Some scientists argue it’s the correct time to simply accept that “living with COVID” means tolerating a sure stage of disruption and deaths, very similar to we do for seasonal flu. Others consider that Britain’s authorities lifted restrictions too shortly and too quickly. They warned that deaths and hospital admissions may maintain rising as a result of extra folks over 55 — those that are more than likely to get critically sick from COVID-19 — are actually getting contaminated regardless of excessive ranges of vaccination.

Hospitals are once more beneath pressure, each from sufferers with the virus and large numbers of workers off sick, mentioned National Health Service medical director Stephen Powis.

“Blinding ourselves to this level of harm does not constitute living with a virus infection — quite the opposite,” mentioned Stephen Griffin, a professor in medication on the University of Leeds. “Without sufficient vaccination, ventilation, masking, isolation and testing, we will continue to ‘live with’ disruption, disease and sadly, death, as a result.”

Others, like Paul Hunter, a medication professor on the University of East Anglia, are extra supportive of the federal government’s insurance policies.

“We’re still not at the point where (COVID-19) is going to be least harmful … but we’re over the worst,” he mentioned. Once a excessive vaccination charge is achieved there may be little worth in sustaining restrictions such as social distancing as a result of “they never ultimately prevent infections, only delay them,” he argued.

Britain’s official statistics company estimated that nearly 5 million U.Ok. residents, or 1 in 13, had the virus in late March, probably the most it had reported. Separately, the REACT examine from London’s Imperial College mentioned its information confirmed that the nation’s an infection ranges in March had been 40% larger than the primary omicron peak in January.

Infection charges are so excessive that airways needed to cancel flights throughout the busy two-week Easter break as a result of too many staff had been calling in sick.

France and Germany have seen comparable surges as restrictions eased in most European international locations. More than 100,000 folks in France had been testing optimistic on daily basis regardless of a pointy dropoff in testing, and the variety of virus sufferers in intensive care rose 22% over the previous week.

President Emmanuel Macron’s authorities, eager to encourage voter turnout in April elections, is just not speaking about any new restrictions.

In Germany, an infection ranges have drifted down from a latest peak. But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach backed off a call to finish obligatory self-isolation for contaminated folks simply two days after it was introduced. He mentioned the plan would ship a “completely wrong” sign that “either the pandemic is over or the virus has become significantly more harmless than was assumed in the past.”

In the U.S., outbreaks at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University are bringing again masks necessities to these campuses as officers search out quarantine area.

Across Europe, solely Spain and Switzerland have joined the U.Ok. in lifting self-isolation necessities for a minimum of some contaminated folks.

But many European international locations have eased mass testing, which is able to make it a lot more durable to know the way prevalent the virus is. Britain stopped distributing free speedy residence assessments this month.

Julian Tang, a flu virologist on the University of Leicester, mentioned that whereas it’s essential to have a surveillance program to watch for brand new variants and replace the vaccine, international locations cope with flu with out obligatory restrictions or mass testing.

“Eventually, COVID-19 will settle down to become more endemic and seasonal, like flu,” Tang mentioned. “Living with COVID, to me, should mimic living with flu.”

Cambridge University virologist Ravindra Gupta is extra cautious. Mortality charges for COVID-19 are nonetheless far larger than seasonal flu and the virus causes extra extreme illness, he warned. He would have most well-liked “more gentle easing of restrictions.”

“There’s no reason to believe that a new variant would not be more transmissible or severe,” he added.

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Geir Moulson and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Angela Charlton in Paris, Barry Hatton in Lisbon and different AP journalists round Europe contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s pandemic protection at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

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