In a bid to bring England “towards a return to normality”, Boris Johnson has now announced a new ‘Living With Covid’ strategy which includes the end of all remaining domestic restrictions.
The Prime Minister made the announcement when talking to MPs in the Commons this afternoon (February 21).
During his speech, Boris Johnson said people who test positive for Covid-19 and their close contacts will no longer have to self-isolate from this Thursday (February 24). Self isolation payments will also end, while there will be an end to routine contact tracing.
From April 1, free symptomatic and asymptomatic testing for the general public will end. However, free testing will still be available for the oldest age groups and those most vulnerable.
Voluntary COVID status certification will also be scrapped and the guidance in education to undertake twice weekly testing will be removed.
The changes are part of Boris Johnson’s ‘Living With Covid’ plan which he hopes will bring society “towards a return to normality” after “one of the most difficult periods in our country’s history”.
“People will be asked to exercise personal responsibility just as we encourage people who may have flu to be considerate to others,” Boris said.
He added that the pandemic is not over but we have passed the peak of the Omicron wave.
“It is now time to move from protecting people with government interventions to vaccines and treatment as our first line of defence.”
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