The government has announced an end to the Plan B restrictions that were in place due to the Omicron outbreak. From the 27th of January rules that made it mandatory to wear masks in shops and on public transport have been scrapped, as well as working from home guidance and Covid passes. The government has said that getting rid of these restrictions is not compulsory and so shops and other establishments can choose to keep restrictions if they think it is necessary. This means the UK will go back to following Plan A, where the restrictions include a compulsory self-isolation period of five days, providing you have produced two negative lateral flows within a five-day period from testing positive. 

I believe that the government is clearly trying to get Covid-19 to the status of being an endemic virus, such as influenza. This is where we can get to the stage where we can live with the virus without there being large surges, aside from certain seasonal increases. A virus’s endemic status does not have to do with the severity of the illness, but rather the stability of infection rates. This means that Covid-19 is not close to becoming endemic, which has been shown by the Omicron outbreak. Therefore, ending the Plan B restrictions so soon is an unwise strategy by the government. The Plan B restrictions contain mostly measures that are not restrictive. For example, for most people wearing a mask is an inoffensive precaution that can greatly reduce the transmission of Covid-19. To get rid of a measure that has no great harm, yet a great benefit seems illogical. I believe that the government is desperately trying to return life to its normal pre-Covid state and are then prematurely getting rid of restrictions in order to make it appear on the surface as if the virus is no longer a problem. The government getting rid of rules mandating mask-wearing could also potentially be to appease those who are anti-maskers, which I believe is foolish as anti-maskers are disregarding clear scientific fact and so should not be placated. 

However, it also disregards the instability of Covid surges and what this means for people who are clinically vulnerable. Life cannot return to its normal pre-Covid state if there are still large increases in Covid infections. As someone who lives with someone who is severely immunocompromised, scrapping the Plan B restrictions feels as if the government are discounting people who may get incredibly sick from Covid as collateral damage. To scrap incredibly effective measures which are not damaging, for example to the economy, makes it seem like the government is trying to achieve a symbolic victory against Covid with a life without restrictions.

Since the pandemic has begun, I have had to be incredibly careful about not getting Covid whilst living in my family home. My family member who is clinically vulnerable has not seen some of her closest friends for over a year. I have had to completely change my lifestyle and I have been forced to essentially disregard the government’s restrictions throughout the pandemic in order to be as cautious as possible. I have not felt comfortable getting a part-time job, which has affected my finances. It feels as if this move towards normality is especially short-sighted when normality is not an option for many families.

The government should be doing more for people who are vulnerable or disabled. There should be greater accommodation for those who feel uncomfortable going back to work in person. There should also be financial compensation for those whose work has been affected. Additionally, I think the compulsory mask-wearing rules should not be scrapped. If we try to live with the virus, we still need to accept that it is circulating, but instead, mitigate its effects as much as possible. The government’s current focus on booster vaccines is a valid solution, but to highlight only the vaccine programme ignores the fact that Covid is still a massive life-affecting barrier for a lot of families. Their current policies are ignoring the impossibility of living with Covid for everyone. In my opinion, vulnerable people are being treated as if they do not have value and so therefore the government is failing them.

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