Living with COVID: As the number of cases soared, experts split about the UK’s plans

London-For many in Britain, the pandemic may be over.

The mask requirement has been removed. Free mass testing is a thing of the past. And for the first time since spring 2020, people can go abroad for vacation without having to order tests or fill out long forms.

That sense of freedom is caused by a milder but more contagious Omicron BA.2 mutant that surged in the United Kingdom in March and is rapidly spreading in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. Even if it is, it is widespread.

The situation in the UK could predict the future of other countries as they ease. coronavirus limit.

Similar infectious disease surges have been seen in France and Germany in recent weeks, and hospitalizations in the UK and France have risen again. However, the number of deaths per day is well below the levels previously seen in the pandemic.

In the United States, the official number of cases is probably very underestimated, as more and more Americans are testing at home. The list of newly infected people includes actors and politicians who are regularly tested. Ministers, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Broadway actors, and New Jersey and Connecticut governors were all positive.

The UK stands out in Europe as it abolished all mitigation policies in February, including forced self-isolation of infected people. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conservative government is determined to stick to the “live with COVID” plan, but experts are divided on whether the country is coping well.

Some scientists argue that “living with COVID” is a good time to accept that it means enduring some turmoil and death, as in the case of seasonal flu. .. Others believe that the British government lifted the restrictions too soon and too soon. They may continue to increase deaths and hospitalizations as people over the age of 55 (people most likely to get serious illness with COVID-19) are infected despite high levels of vaccination. I warned that there was.

Stephen Powis, medical director of the National Health Service, said the hospital was once again in tension due to the vast number of virus patients and sick staff.

Stephen Griffin, a professor of medicine at the University of Leeds, said: “Without adequate vaccination, ventilation, masking, quarantine, and testing, the result will be confusion, illness, and sadly life with death.”

Others, such as Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, are more supportive of government policy.

“We still can’t say that (COVID-19) is the least harmful … but we’re beyond the worst,” he said. When high immunization rates are achieved, it is of little value to maintain restrictions such as social distance, as “it does not ultimately prevent, but only delays” the infection.

Official UK statistics agencies estimated that nearly 5 million UK residents, or 1 in 13 people, were infected with the virus in late March. Separately, according to a REACT study at Imperial College London, the data showed that the country’s infection levels in March were 40% higher than the first Omicron peak in January.

The infection rate is so high that airlines had to cancel their flights during the busy two-week Easter vacation because too many workers were sick and calling.

In France and Germany, similar surges have been seen as most European countries have relaxed regulations. In France, despite a sharp decline in testing, more than 100,000 people are positive each day, and the number of viral patients in the intensive care unit has increased by 22% over the past week.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government is keen to raise turnout in the April elections and is not talking about new restrictions.

In Germany, infection levels have fallen from their recent peak. However, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach withdrew the decision to end the forced self-quarantine of infected individuals only two days after the announcement. He said the plan would send a “totally wrong” signal that “the pandemic is over or the virus is much more harmless than previously expected.”

In the United States, outbreaks at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University have reinstated mask requirements on these campuses as authorities are looking for quarantine space.

Throughout Europe, only Spain and Switzerland have joined the UK to lift the self-quarantine requirements for at least some infected individuals.

However, many European countries have relaxed mass testing, making it much more difficult to know how widespread the virus is. The UK has stopped distributing free Rapid Home Tests this month.

Julian Tang, an influenza virusologist at the University of Leicester, said it’s important to have a surveillance program to monitor new variants and update vaccines, but countries deal with influenza without compulsory restrictions or mass testing. I said.

“Ultimately, COVID-19 will calm down and become more endemic and seasonal, like the flu,” said Tang. “For me, living with COVID should imitate living with the flu.”

Ravindra Gupta, a virologist at the University of Cambridge, is more cautious. He warned that the mortality rate of COVID-19 is still much higher than that of seasonal influenza and that the virus causes more serious illness. He would have preferred “gentle relaxation of restrictions”.

“There is no reason to believe that the new variant is less contagious or severe,” he added.

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

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