COVID cases are the lowest they’ve been in six MONTHS as Boris Johnson prepares to end the final restrictions TOMORROW.
A total of 25,696 Brits have tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, as well as the daily Covid death toll hitting 74.
The last time cases of Covid were this low was August 10 last year, when 23,510 infections were reported in a 24 hour period.
Today’s figures bring the total number of infections since the pandemic began 18,605,752.
And the tragic death toll in the UK has now reached 160,581.
Among those who have tested positive today is Her Majesty the Queen- who has caught the virus at the age of 95.
Palace officials say she will still carry out “light duties.”
This comes as Boris Johnson will announce an end to self-isolation rules tomorrow in a victory against Covid.
And the Prime Minister will reportedly bring the new rules in from Thursday.
He will repeal all pandemic regulations that restrict public freedoms in England as part of his Living With Covid plan.
Ministers said future variants are expected to be similar to Omicron in terms of being milder than early mutations.
Mr Johnson said ahead of his announcement: “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.”
Covid latest:
- Her Majesty the Queen tests positive for Covid at the age of 95, but Palace officials say she will still carry out “light duties”
- The Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce a “bonfire of Covid rules” from tomorrow
- Travellers are likely to still face Covid restrictions, with passenger locator forms set to stay in place until the spring
- Boris Johnson to announce the end of self-isolation rules tomorrow as he urges Brits to “live with Covid”
Free lateral flow and PCR Covid tests are set to also finish shortly in a timetable the PM is due to set out in an announcement on Monday.
However free tests are likely to still remain available for the more vulnerable including the elderly.
And speaking on BBC One’s Sunday Morning Programme, the PM said he wanted people to be “much more confident” to get back to work and normal life.
He said: “I’m not saying you can totally throw caution to the winds, Covid remains dangerous if you’re vulnerable and if you’re not vaccinated, but we need people to be much more confident and get back to work.”
CASE BY CASE
Boris added: “We’ve reached a stage where we think you can shift the balance away from state mandation, away from banning certain courses of action, compelling certain courses of action, in favour of encouraging personal responsibility.
“I do want to see our country really getting back on its feet.”
Despite the change in restrictions, passenger locator forms are set to stay, it’s been reported.
The forms are instead expected to remain – possibly being scrapped later in the spring.
Passenger locator forms were simplified earlier this month for fully vaccinated travellers, who now only need to confirm their jab status, travel history and contact details.
Travellers must fill the form in before they arrive in the UK. Unvaccinated travellers must also show proof of a negative test.
