Remaining Covid-19 restrictions are set to end in England, after a drop in new reported cases. Rules on face masks and mandatory Covid passes for large events — as well as guidance to work from home — will be scrapped from next Thursday.
But health leaders have urged the public to stay cautious as pressures on hospitals remain.
Young woman wearing protective face mask, she sitting in bus transportation in the city.
The U.K. reported 108,069 new positive cases on Wednesday: a massive fall from the 218,724 reported just two weeks ago on January 4th.
The number of Covid-19 positive patients in the country's hospital beds has also fallen from a peak of more than 17,000 on January 10 to just over 15,700. But this is still is still a significant number, far in excess of recent months. And it's coming down much slower than the country's overall case number.
Covid-19-related staff absence is also dropping in line with the national picture. But hospital leaders say the health service isn't out of the woods yet.
If cases rise as restrictions drop, hospitals will have to deal with "the extra burden that this creates," health boss Matthew Taylor said in a statement.
Taylor is CEO of healthcare membership body NHS Confederation.
“The NHS is under significant pressure. Even with restrictions and many people going further to protect themselves and others, the number in hospital with Covid is high and the numbers are only going down very slowly," he said. "High numbers of Covid patients and staff off sick has an inevitable effect on the work the health service can do, including the urgent task of making inroads into the treatment backlog and getting back to key performance targets.
Taylor encouraged members of the public to continue taking protective measures like testing regularly, wearing masks and ventilating rooms to mitigate the risks from the disease.
'A second omicron surge'
Saffron Cordery, deputy CEO of hospital trust membership body NHS Providers, said in a statement that winter was adding to the pressure on hospitals. "There are still nearly 20,000 Covid-19 patients in hospital, at a time when the NHS is already at full stretch and contending with the toughest winter on record," she said.
The number of people hospitalised with Covid-19 varies across the country, she said, adding that in the north east and Yorkshire, patient numbers were still going up.
"This means that some trusts tell us they are expecting their peak later this week, or possibly early next. There are also indications that it takes longer for hospitalisations to reduce than infection rates," she said.
"That's why it's important that there is recognition that this surge isn't over, and that the health service is still operating under extremely challenging circumstances."
The government must continue to track the evidence, she said, warning they should prepare for the possibility of "a second omicron surge."
