transport is also lifted from today. and from april the 1st, free covid testing will come to an end for most people in england. some charities, scientists and doctors are worried restrictions are being relaxed too quickly. covid remains pretty high in circulation around the country and what nhs leaders are worried about is that if too many of our precautions are relaxed at one time, then there will be an increase in the transmission of covid. for lots of people, the current strain of covid 19 can often have quite mild effects. but that is not the case for everyone, and that is particularly not the case for people with other vulnerabilities. the changes today apply to england only. restrictions in scotland, wales and northern ireland are being lifted at different speeds as the omicron wave of this virus passes. jim reed, bbc news.
but it could be almost anywhere in the country. these patients have come to accident and emergency hoping for urgent care. instead, they re stuck in a queue as the nhs struggles to cope. this is the most serious situation i ve found myself with in my career. i think we would ask the public to remain patient with us, both from waiting for their appointments to happen, but also when they do have to come into hospital and know that we will see them as quickly as we can. and the danger there is that these patients might actually come to harm. that s what was always on our mind when we re trying to look after patients, it s that we want to minimise the time that they re here so that we can look after them safely. but with waiting times breaking records, the royal college of emergency medicine estimates that delays have led to the unnecessary deaths of up to 240 patients in scotland so far this year. we have record numbers in hospital with covid. if i look at our nhs staff absences due to te
weeks. so, the most immediate thing we can do, the thing that i think will alleviate most of the pressure from the nhs, is control the transmission of covid, and that s why we ask people to follow the rules. the latest survey by the office for national statistics suggests that almost 4.3 million people in the uk had coronavirus last week, up1 million on the previous seven days. in scotland, it was one in 11 people with the virus, the highest level ever. in england and wales, it was one in 16. only in northern ireland did cases actually fall, although at one in 17, they re still pretty high. and yet from monday in wales, masks will no longer be the law in shops and on public transport. self isolation rules will end, too. but with cases of the ba.2 variant of omicron driving this current surge, some safeguards will remain. one of the reasons why the ba.2 variant may
on our mind when we are trying to look after patients, that we want to minimise the time they are here so that we can look after them safely. but with waiting times breaking records, the royal college of emergency medicine estimates delays have led to the unnecessary deaths of up to 240 patients in scotland so far this year. we have record numbers in hospital with covid. if i look at our nhs staff absences due to testing positive with covid, they ve increased by 100% over the last four weeks, so the most immediate thing we can do, the thing that i think will alleviate most of the pressure from the nhs, is control the transmission of covid. the latest survey by the office for national statistics suggests that almost 4.3 million people in the uk had coronavirus last week, at a million on the previous seven days. in scotland it was one in 11 people with the virus, the highest level ever. in england and in wales it was one and 16. only in northern ireland did cases actually fall, although
them as quickly as we can. and the danger there is that these patients might actually come to harm. that s what was always on our mind when we re trying to look after patients, it s that we want to minimise the time that they re here so that we can look after them safely. but with waiting times breaking records, the royal college of emergency medicine estimates that delays have led to the unnecessary deaths of up to 240 patients in scotland so far this year. we have record numbers in hospital with covid. if i look at our nhs staff absences due to testing positive for covid, they ve increased by 100% over the last four weeks. so, the most immediate thing we can do, the thing that i think will alleviate most of the pressure from the nhs, is control the transmission of covid, and that s why we ask people to follow the rules. the latest survey by the office for national statistics suggests that almost a5 million people in the uk had coronavirus last week, up a million on the previous seven