Johnson will scrap UK covid measures in new plan this week

[LONDON] British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government reiterated his intention to end the UK's remaining Covid-19 restrictions, saying he would lay out a plan this week for "living with Covid".

The prime minister is expected to confirm "all regulations that restrict public freedoms will be repealed", according to a statement on Saturday (Feb 19). Johnson earlier this month said he plans to end the legal requirement for people in England to self-isolate if they test positive.

Among the measures Johnson is expected to announce is an end to the legal duty to self-isolate after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Wes Streeting, the Labour Party's shadow health secretary, cautioned that Johnson was moving too soon. "I don't think it's right that we should effectively declare victory before the war is won," Streeting said on Sunday on the BBC. "What's the scientific basis for making this decision?"

Johnson is under pressure to end restrictions from fellow members of his Tory party, and faces widespread criticism for his involvement in allegedly rule-breaking parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.

But one Conservative Cabinet minister said it was the right time dial back. "We have broken the link between infections and hospitalisations" with the aggressive vaccination and booster programme, James Cleverly, the UK Europe minister, said on Sunday on Sky News. "We always have to live with diseases. We have to live with this disease. But we have to start to get back to normal."

Positive Covid tests in the UK continue to fall from an early-January peak, and the number of patients hospitalised for the virus is down sharply as well. Over 160,000 deaths from Covid-19 have been reported since since the virus reached the UK in early 2020, among the highest death rates in the world.

The pandemic has left health services under continued strain, contributing to a years-long backlog for non-urgent medical procedures. Daily Covid deaths are now running about 90 per cent below the peak from early 2021, before vaccines were widely available. The UK has moved through the Omicron wave without a sizable bump in fatalities. BLOOMBERG