Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that all remaining Covid restrictions in England – including self-isolation – are set to be scrapped.
Speaking to the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions earlier today (February 9th), the Prime Minister said that “encouraging current trends in the data” should allow the government to remove remaining Covid rules ahead of schedule.
Once the legal requirement to self-isolate is abolished, even those who test positive for the coronavirus will no longer need to self-isolate. So when is self-isolation due to end?
READ MORE: Six announcements from Boris Johnson at PMQs with all Covid restrictions set to end early
When is self-isolation ending?
Self-isolation in England looks set to be scrapped before the end of February, as the UK government proceeds with its plans to “live with the virus”.
Boris Johnson is due to unveil the government’s ‘Living with Covid’ strategy on February 21st, when the House of Commons returns from its recession. Remaining Covid restrictions, including self-isolation, are expected to be abolished shortly afterwards.
The government scrapped its remaining Plan B restrictions – including the legal requirement to wear masks in shops – last month, with the number of new coronavirus infections declining.
Any remaining restrictions were scheduled to end on March 24th, but this is set to be brought forward by around a month.
Yesterday (February 8th), a total of 58,453 new Covid cases were reported in England. This is down by about 70% on the peak of 234,687 cases on January 4th.
Johnson has been under fire from backbench Conservative MPs and some of his cabinet colleagues recently, amid a string of damaging revelations and scandals.
However, Tory MPs are likely to be strongly supportive of the plan to scrap remaining Covid restrictions, which may ease some of the pressure on the Prime Minister.
Johnson has said that the government’s long-term Covid strategy will “protect our liberty and avoid restrictions in future by relying instead on medical advances” rather than restrictions.
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