Britain must learn to live with COVID-19, it could be with us forever - Javid

People walk past a health information board, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bolton, Britain, January 19, 2022. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Britain must learn to live with COVID-19 as it may be with us forever, health minister Sajid Javid said on Thursday, adding that Britain was moving ahead of other countries as the government lifted coronavirus measures.

"We need to learn to live with it. Sadly people die of flu as well: in a bad flu year you can sadly lose about 20,000 lives, but we don't shut down our entire country," Javid told Sky News.

"COVID is not going away. It's going to be with us for many, many years, perhaps forever, and we have to learn to live with it... I think we are leading Europe in the transition from pandemic to endemic and we're leading the way in showing the world how you can live with COVID."

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid speaks during a news conference for the latest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) update, in Downing Street, London, Britain January 19, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/Pool

(Reporting by Kate Holton, writing by Alistair Smout)