Boris Johnson has announced that all coronavirus restrictions would be lifted soon. All remaining coronavirus limitations in England, including COVID-positive self-isolation requirements, could be abolished in February, according to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“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,” Johnson said during Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions.
The restrictions are set to expire on March 24, so under Johnson’s new schedule, England might be back to pre-pandemic levels of liberty in little over two weeks.
Anyone who tests positive for coronavirus should currently isolate for at least five days. This regulation applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
Following a wave of Omicron, the United Kingdom has experienced a drop in case counts, with the seven-day average currently at its lowest level since mid-December. This year, the average number of deaths each week has remained around 1,500.
“At some point it is going to be the case that all remaining restrictions are dropped including the need to self-isolate, though I certainly didn’t expect that to happen this month,” said Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, describing Johnson’s comments as “quite a surprise.”
Vulnerable persons, particularly those who are unable to build an immune response despite being vaccinated, remain the primary worry, according to Hunter. As a result of the removal of isolation, he continued, robust processes must be in place to guarantee that infections in this group are diagnosed early and antivirals be administered within hours after a positive result.
The NHS Confederation’s chief executive, Matthew Taylor, has called for a “cautious approach” while the country learns to live with the virus.
Source: politico.eu
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