British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined the UK government’s new long-term COVID-19 plan, saying self-isolation requirements will be lifted from Thursday.
Tolga Akmen / AP
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Tolga Akmen / AP
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined the UK government’s new long-term COVID-19 plan, saying self-isolation requirements will be lifted from Thursday.
Tolga Akmen / AP
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is scrapping coronavirus self-isolation rules as part of a “living with COVID” strategy, a day later Queen Elizabeth II announces she has the virus.
The new rules, which Johnson says will help jumpstart the country’s economy, take effect on Thursday. That means people who test positive for the virus will no longer have to self-isolate for a minimum of five days.
The change will not apply to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which have their own set of health policy rules.
“COVID is not going to suddenly go away,” Johnson told Congress on Monday. “So those who wait for this war to be over completely before lifting the remaining regulations that will limit the freedoms of the British people for a long time to come.”
Johnson said he almost died from COVID-19 in 2020 when he was hospitalized in intensive care in a few days. But he has long advocated lifting the requirements despite warnings from medical experts that such changes could be dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly. and other vulnerable groups, as well as placing additional strain on the nation’s overwhelmed health care system.
The Prime Minister has also come under pressure from his Conservative Party to amend or lift existing restrictions. Now, he seems to have responded to their request, saying, “The restrictions take a heavy toll on our economy, our society, our mental health, and our chances of living. of our children – and we don’t need to pay that cost anymore.”
The move comes as Britain continues to recover from the rapid spread of the omicron variant which peaked in December and early January, when the daily infection rate spiked to around 200,000 people. The daily infection rate remains in the tens of thousands. On Monday, UK officials reported nearly 34,500 new positive cases.
Johnson added that the queen’s recent diagnosis is a “reminder that this virus has not gone away.”
According to Buckingham Palace, the UK’s longest-reigning monarch, is “experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but is expected to resume light duties at Windsor over the next week.”
