BORIS Johnson has announced his “living with Covid” plan.
The Prime Minister unveiled the plan to get back to “normal life” alongside the virus – with all remaining domestic Covid restrictions in England scrapped THIS Thursday.
Rules around testing, free tests, self-isolation and contact tracing will also be phased out.
By September 2022, all temporary provisions of the Coronavirus Act will be dissolved, the Prime Minister confirmed today.
Mr Johnson pressed that future navigation of coronavirus will rely heavily on people taking personal responsibility.
He said: “We don’t need laws to compel people to behave responsibly to others.
“Let us learn to live with this virus without restricting ourselves and our freedoms.”
But as he announced the scrapping of a raft of measures, Mr Johnson was quick to remind everyone that Covid has not gone away, and new variants could emerge.
Isolation
Mr Johnson announced that from Thursday, February 24, anyone who tests positive for Covid will not be forced to self-isolate.
And from April 21, people who test positive for coronavirus will no longer be required to stay at home.
But No10 said: “We’re not saying isolation is pointless. We’d expect anyone with an infectious disease to take steps not to spread that disease further – a colleague at work with flu, for example.”
That means fines for non-compliance with quarantine rules of up to £10,000 will cease to be enforceable.
The change also means an end to Covid sick pay – although this will remain in place for one further month, ending in March.
And self-isolation support payments will end Thursday.
Currently anyone with the virus must isolate for at least five full days.
If you return two negative lateral flow swabs on days five and six you can then leave isolation early.
However, from Thursday, fully vaccinated adults and under 18s won’t be asked to test for seven days.
The isolation period has previously been 14 days, ten days and seven days.
Contact tracing
From Thursday, February 24, contact tracing will end.
There will no longer be a legal requirement for unvaccinated contacts to isolate.
Mr Johnson explained that the Test and Trace budget had exceeded the entire Home Office budget, with £2 billion spent in January alone.
He told the Commons that we must now “scale” the cost back.
Testing
Free lateral flow and PCR tests will be axed from April.
Mr Johnson insisted that free testing is to continue for the vulnerable and the elderly, and that anyone who wishes to pay for a Covid test after the free ones are axed, will be able to do so.
They may then cost £30 for a pack of seven, it has been reported.
Covid tests for schoolchildren have also been binned, as Trending In The News revealed this week.
From today, February 21, there will no longer be a requirement for staff and students in educational settings to undertake twice weekly Covid tests.
The £10billion testing regime has caused Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak to lock horns.
But measures will stay in place to track the virus with “granular precision” to ensure we are prepared for any resurging variants.
Vaccines
The PM announced that, on the advice of the JCVI, the most vulnerable to Covid will continue to be protected with springtime boosters for those aged 75 and over.
Immuno-suppressed individuals aged 12 and over can also get the spring boosters.
Masks
Mask wearing was scrapped in most venues in England when the Plan B measures were axed.
But there are still some venues where they remain legally enforceable, but soon face the chop.
Currently people are still asked to cover up in health and care settings including hospitals, GP surgeries and pharmacies, and nursing homes.
Schools also currently still have the power to order mask wearing in communal areas like corridors and canteens to fight local outbreaks.
Face coverings are currently still required on public transport in London, but they are not legally enforceable with fines.
Instead people can only be refused entry to TfL services if they refuse to wear a mask
Holidays
Passenger locator forms are set to stay and are expected to be reviewed instead later in the Spring.
Many Tory MPs are understood to be angry that they will not be axed.
And while Covid certificates will be scrapped, Brits can still use the NHS app to indicate their vaccination status for international travel.
But health officials remain concerned over the need to track variants coming into the UK.
The forms were simplified earlier this month for fully vaccinated travellers.
Testing is still required for those who have not had two jabs.
