LONDON (AP) — Face masks will no longer be mandatory in public places and COVID-19 passports will be dropped for large events as infections level off in most parts of the country, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday.

Johnson told lawmakers that the restrictions were being eased because government scientists think it is likely that the surge of infections prompted by the highly contagious omicron variant “has now peaked nationally.”

While hospitals in northern England still are getting pressed by high caseloads and infections were still rising in schools, Johnson said hospital admissions and patients in intensive care units elsewhere in England were stabilizing or falling.

The government is no longer advising people to work from home, and compulsory face masks will be scrapped in secondary school classrooms starting Thursday.

Mandatory COVID-19 passes will not be needed to gain entry to large-scale events beginning Jan. 27. Face masks will no longer be legally required anywhere in England as of that day.

“We will trust the judgment of the British people and no longer criminalize anyone who chooses not to wear one,” Johnson said.

The restrictions were introduced in December to slow the rapid spread of the omicron variant and buy time for the population to get their booster vaccine shot.

Johnson said Wednesday that more than 90% of those over age 60 in the U.K. have had booster shots.

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Doctors and medical workers in Poland fear the country's health care system may not be able to cope with the latest surge of COVID-19 infections.

More than 30,000 new cases in 24 hours were reported Wednesday in this nation of 38 million people and health authorities are expecting the figure to almost double in the next week, reflecting the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.

Poland has about 31,000 hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, and the current infection rate poses a “great risk to the efficiency of the health care system,” Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said.

Medical staff are exhausted and overworked and stress that dedicated hospital beds and equipment alone cannot care for the patients. Nurse Gilbert Kolbe, a spokesman for protesting medics, says “Poland’s health care system is not prepared for the fifth wave.”

"Whatever happens during the fifth wave, if no radical steps are taken by our government, will, unfortunately, have influence on the number of deaths,” Kolbe told The Associated Press.

“It is really a great problem that we are simply exhausted," with people working huge hours every month, Kolbe said, adding that the situation is worsened by the hateful comments and death threats that some medical workers are receiving.

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NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Tourism-reliant Cyprus will lift all entry requirements on March 1 for inbound travelers who have a valid vaccination certificate showing they received a booster shot, the country's tourism minister said Wednesday.

Cyprus currently requires individuals to either show proof of a negative COVID-19 test or to self-quarantine upon arrival.

The Mediterranean island nation plans to do away with those requirements for people who have been vaccinated. Certificates for travelers who haven’t received booster shots will be accepted if nine months haven’t passed since they received their last dose.

European Union member Cyprus will accept vaccination certificates from non-EU countries that conform those issued by the 27-member nation bloc.

Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos said unvaccinated adults still will be allowed into the country as long as they comply with testing and quarantine requirements that depend on their country of departure.

Cyprus plans to introduce on March 1 a simplified COVID-19 risk-assessment system for categorizing countries. Unvaccinated travelers from green category countries will need to undergo a PCR test 72 hours prior to boarding or a rapid test 24 hours before departure.

Unvaccinated travelers from red category countries will need to also undergo a PCR test on arrival to Cyprus at their own expense. Grey category country travelers will need special permission to enter Cyprus.

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ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria's leader on Wednesday ordered all elementary and high schools closed for 10 days because of surging COVID-19 infections in the North African country and authorities tightened entry requirements at airports.

The decision by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to cancel classes starting Thursday came after an emergency meeting Wednesday of the Council of Ministers, members of the COVID-19 scientific committee and the country's security officials.

The presidential statement said university staff and health authorities should decide themselves whether to continue with in-person classes.

Algeria is battling infections from both the delta variant infections and the fast-spreading omicron variant. On Wednesday, heath officials reported a daily record of 1,359 omicron cases and 12 deaths.

Tebboune urged officials to set a “robust testing structure” in public heath facilities and in private laboratories.

In December, Algeria started requiring a vaccine passport to enter many public venues, seeking to boost the country’s low inoculation rate and overcome vaccine hesitancy that has left millions of vaccines unused. Less than a quarter of Algeria’s population has had even one vaccine dose.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand is among the few remaining countries to have avoided any outbreaks of the omicron variant — but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday an outbreak was inevitable and the nation would tighten restrictions as soon as one was detected.

But she also said that New Zealand would not impose the lockdowns that it has used previously, including for the delta variant.

“This stage of the pandemic is different to what we have dealt with before. Omicron is more transmissible," Ardern said. “That is going to make it harder to keep it out, but it will also make it more challenging to control once it arrives. But just like before, when COVID changes, we change.”

Ardern said that within 24 to 48 hours of omicron being detected in the community, the nation would move into its “red" setting. That would allow businesses to remain open and domestic travel to continue, but would require schoolchildren to wear masks and limit crowds to 100 people.

Currently most of New Zealand is at the “orange” setting, which requires some mask wearing and proof of vaccination but doesn't limit crowd sizes.

About 93% of New Zealanders aged 12 and over are fully vaccinated and 52% have had a booster shot. The country has just begun vaccinating children aged between 5 and 11.

New Zealand has managed to contain the spread of the delta variant, with an average of about 20 new cases each day. But it has seen an increasing number of people arriving into the country and going into mandatory quarantine who are infected with omicron.

That has put strain on the quarantine system and prompted the government to limit access for returning citizens while it decides what to do about reopening its borders, angering many people who want to return to New Zealand.