British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested on Wednesday that laws requiring people in England with COVID-19 to self-isolate will be lifted within weeks, bringing an end to all domestic coronavirus restrictions.
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 told Parliament.
He added he plans to present his plan for living with the virus when Parliament returns from a short break on February 21.
Johnson's Conservative government dropped most remaining COVID-19 restrictions last month.
Face masks are no longer mandatory anywhere in England, except on London's public transport network.
Virus passports for gaining entry to nightclubs and large-scale events were scrapped, as was the official advice to work from home.
The UK has seen a drop in both new infections and COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals since early January, when the highly transmissible omicron variant drove daily caseloads to more than 200,000 a day.
Current infections average at around 64,000 daily, the lowest recorded since mid-December.
British officials have said the government plans to switch from legal restrictions to advisory measures and treat the coronavirus more like the flu as it becomes endemic in the country.
Britain still has the second-highest virus death toll in Europe after Russia, with over 159,000 dead.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU