• Sunday, 07 July 2024

British PM announces Covid quarantine requirements to end on Thursday

British PM announces Covid quarantine requirements to end on Thursday
London, 21 February 2022 (dpa/MIA) - People in Britain who test positive for the coronavirus will no longer be legally required to isolate from Thursday, and free universal testing will end in April under Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan for "living with Covid." The prime minister detailed the strategy for England to the Commons late on Monday afternoon after a Cabinet disagreement thought to centre on funding for future surveillance of the virus. Those who receive a positive Covid-19 test will still be advised to stay at home for at least five days, but will not be obliged to under law under the plans subject to parliamentary approval. Routine contact tracing will also end on Thursday, as will self-isolation payments and the legal obligation for individuals to tell their employers about their requirement to isolate. Johnson also told MPs that changes to statutory sick pay and employment support allowance designed to help people through the coronavirus pandemic will end on March 24. People aged 75 and over, the immunosuppressed and those living in care homes will be offered another Covid-19 booster vaccine this spring under the plans. But free universal testing will be massively scaled back from April 1 and will instead be focused on the most vulnerable, with the UK Health Security Agency set to determine the details, while a degree of asymptomatic testing will continue in the most risky settings such as in social care. Johnson warned the "pandemic is not over," with the news that Queen Elizabeth tested positive on Sunday a "reminder this virus has not gone away." But he told MPs it was time to "move from government restrictions to personal responsibility," with "sufficient levels of immunity to complete the transition" from laws to relying on vaccines and treatments.