The Prime Minister is due to announce a “living with Covid” plan and as part of that plan, he’ll explain that the requirement to self-isolate after a positive Covid test will come to an end next week.
Boris Johnson aims to withdraw all Coronavirus regulations that are currently restricting public freedoms in England, Downing Street has said.
It is thought that Mr Johnson will update MPs after Parliament’s February break. He’s expected to tell them that the vaccine programme, testing and new treatments are enough to ensure the safety of the public.
The news comes after ministers said that new variants of coronavirus are expected to have a pattern that’s milder, much like the Omicron variant, than earlier mutations.
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'Living with Covid' plan to be revealed on Monday
Speaking ahead of outlining his plan, the Prime Minister said: “Covid will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms.
“We’ve built up strong protections against this virus over the past two years through the vaccine rollouts, tests, new treatments, and the best scientific understanding of what this virus can do.
“Thanks to our successful vaccination programme and the sheer magnitude of people who have come forward to be jabbed, we are now in a position to set out our plan for living with Covid this week.”
Self-isolation set to come to an end
Officials said that by the end of the week, people who test positive as well as their close contacts, will no longer need to self-isolate as regulations are to be scrapped, PA News Agency reports.
Outbreaks are to be managed by local authorities and pre-existing health powers, the same as would be expected with diseases other than Covid-19.
Downing Street said pharmaceutical interventions will “continue to be our first line of defence”, with the vaccine programme remaining “open to anyone who has not yet come forward”, PA News Agency reports.
85% of the UK’s population is double vaccinated and 38 million booster jabs have been administered and with that No 10 said it had come to the conclusion that “Government intervention in people’s lives can now finally end”.
Having said that, No.10 seemed to be in favour of state-funded infection sampling continuing after reports suggested the plan could mean Covid studies are removed.
Officials said the “living with Covid” plan that will be announced on Monday will keep up “resilience against future variants with ongoing surveillance capabilities”.
This follows senior statistician Sir David Spiegelhalter arguing that some form of the Office for National Statistics’ coronavirus study should remain in place, the PA News Agency reported.
The Cambridge University professor, also a non-executive director for the ONS and chairman of the advisory board for the Covid Infection Survey, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme how important the results had been when it came to observing people’s behaviour.
“It has been absolutely so important as we have gone along,” he said on Saturday.
He added: “It has been running since April 2020, and so, as I said, I do have a bias here but it is not just me – I think lots of people are saying how important it is, particularly the statistical community.”
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In response to Boris Johnson’s vision, Labour said coronavirus tests should not need to be paid for.
The comments come after armed forces minister James Heappey suggested on Thursday that Mr Johnson was likely to announce an end to free lateral flow tests as he called on the public to “worry less about the need to have tested ourselves”, PA News Agency reported.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “Boris Johnson is declaring victory before the war is over, in an attempt to distract from the police knocking at his door.
“Labour doesn’t want to see restrictions in place any longer than they need to be.
“The Government should publish the evidence behind this decision, so the public can have faith that it is being made in the national interest.
“Now is not the time to start charging for tests or weaken sick pay, when people are still being asked to behave responsibly.”
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