The Prime Minister announced in the House of Commons that from 24th February the Government will remove the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test. He also announced that the Government will no longer ask fully vaccinated close contacts of a positive Covid-19 case to test daily and that it will revoke The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations which are currently in law.
In its plan, the Government state that although free testing will end for most people, testing will be available for at-risk groups. The government will focus on the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable with vaccines, at-home PCR testing and antivirals and therapeutics to ensure they are protected from the virus.
As it sets out in its plan document, people will still be encouraged to adopt safer behaviours to reduce the risk of infection, including getting vaccinated, making the most of fresh, staying at home if they are unwell and wearing a face covering in crowded areas.
Latest Government data shows that as a result of wide-ranging immunity, as well as new treatments such as antivirals, the link between Covid-19 infections and severe disease has been wakened with less than 1 in 100 cases requiring hospital treatment compared to 4 in 100 at the start of the pandemic.
The Government will continue to monitor Covid-19 by using the ONS Surveillance Study to look at transmission and to detect any new variants of the virus.
The full 'Living with Covid-19' document can be viewed HERE.