Covid: Self-isolation law could be scrapped in England this month

Health & Diet Health & Diet: In The News
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The current restrictions are due to expire on 24 March.

But Mr Johnson told MPs he expected the last domestic rules would end early as long as the positive trends in the data continued.

He said he intended to return after parliamentary recess - which is from 21 February - to outline the government’s strategy for living with Covid.

“It is my intention to return on the first day after the half-term recess to present our strategy for living with Covid,” Mr Johnson said at the start of Prime Minister’s Questions.

“Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions - including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive - a full month early.”

The law will be replaced with guidance, Downing Street said - and for example people will be urged not to go to work if they have Covid.

Back in January, Mr Johnson said the restrictions would end for good when they expired in March - and hinted they could end sooner.

“The self-isolation regulations expire on 24 March, at which point I very much expect not to renew them,” he said at the time. “Indeed were the data to allow, I would like to seek a vote in this House to bring that date forwards.”

Rules for travellers coming to the UK are also being relaxed later this month.

A calculated risk or a gamble … :question:

The trends are positive but this decision has still taken some by surprise - infection levels are still high and it’s unclear what this will do to the spread of the virus.

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Common sense more than anything Omah.

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And a very carefully calculated risk if you ask me.

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Just Johnson trying to regain his popularity after Partygate, hoping people will forget

He doesn’t care who dies as long as he can save his own skin

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“Let the bodies pile high” - Boris Johnson. Pity he didn’t include his own in that, when he was apparently being looked after 24 hrs a day “suffering” with covid :roll_eyes: I’m sure the nurses who looked after him feel terrible now.

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A senior Welsh Labour minister has said there was no meeting of the UK’s chief medical officers before Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he could end England’s Covid rules early. Welsh Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said there was also no agreement between the UK’s health ministers.

But a Downing Street source said the devolved governments were told before the PM made his announcement. The prime minister was laying out his intentions and the full strategy will be set out in due course, the source added.

Each of the four nations has a separate CMO - in England it is Professor Sir Chris Whitty, while Dr Sir Frank Atherton is his counterpart in Wales.

Economy Minister Mr Gething made the comments as he announced that Wales could scrap its own self-isolation and mask rules by the end of March. He told the BBC he was “fairly surprised” by the manner of the PM’s announcement, and the fact that it did not appear to be underpinned by public health advice. If the advice exists, he said, “it hasn’t been shared with us. There certainly wasn’t a meeting and agreement between the chief medical officers across the UK. There was no meeting between health ministers before this change was made, all the things that have been very normal during the course of the last two years, didn’t take place,” he said.

On Friday, at the latest Welsh coronavirus review Mr Gething said that self-isolation rules would remain in place in Wales. “Self-isolation is still an important way of breaking the chain of transmission of the virus and preventing more people from becoming infected,” he added.

BJ knows best … :roll_eyes: