Boris Johnson announces the end of Covid restrictions in England

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Johnson outlined England’s roadmap to End all legal restrictions And start with “living with covid”. The other three countries, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, have delegated authority to enforce their own rules.

While the Prime Minister hailed the end of restrictions, he and other British officials made clear that the pandemic was far from over.

“Covid will not suddenly go away,” Johnson said, so the government will continue to monitor new, more dangerous variables and keep some infrastructure in place. Recognize any viral mutations.

Johnson opened his statement wishing the Queen a speedy recovery from COVID-19. He said it was “a reminder that this virus has not gone away,” but said it was time “to move from government restrictions to personal responsibility.”

Buckingham Palace announced on Sunday that the 95-year-old queen – who is celebrating her 70th birthday on the throne – has mild cold symptoms but expects light duties to continue in Windsor over the next week.

Restrictions will be lifted gradually

Termination restrictions will be implemented in England gradually, subject to the approval of Parliament.

The legal requirement to self-isolate after testing positive for Covid-19 expires on February 24, despite the government’s advice that people should be isolated after testing positive for remains.

Vaccinated contacts of those who test positive will not need to be tested for seven days and the law will not require isolation of unvaccinated contacts. Employees also do not have to tell their employers if they test positive.

People who have been in contact with a person who tested positive are not followed up.

As a result of the changes, from March 24, the government will cut some financial aid to those unable to work from home if they test positive.

From April 1, the government will no longer offer free rapid tests to the public, although it has not indicated the costs of a package of seven tests.

From this point on, testing will be more targeted — in settings such as hospitals, nursing homes and other places where vulnerable people may come into contact with the virus.

Johnson also said the government is no longer requiring local people in England to hold a Covid status certificate at this point. Many lawmakers from the prime minister’s Conservative Party were uncomfortable with the idea of ​​vaccine passports.

Vaccinations and antiviral treatments

On Monday, the government made clear that there was no scientific evidence that Covid-19 had shifted from pandemic to endemic, nor that new surges would be less severe. Therefore, some protection measures are still in place.

The national government maintains the domestic surveillance system that continues the spread of the virus and the order in which any new variants can be infected. The National Statistics Office continues to investigate the contamination.

The laboratory infrastructure developed during the pandemic to test and monitor new variants in the event of a resurgence of the virus will be maintained, as well as storage of rapid lateral flow tests.

The government will continue its vaccination program and update its advice on vaccinations if scientific evidence indicates that they will be effective in the future.

Government agencies will continue to purchase antiviral treatments to help protect at-risk Covid-19 patients.

Johnson has faced calls from Tory MPs for several months to lift Covid-19 restrictions. Fight the epidemic earlier but Recent series of scandals – Experience it Police investigations Whether he and his staff broke their lockdown rules – that backlog has widened political pressure on him

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