Boris Johnson has announced a shock plan to end all covid self-isolation laws in England in just two weeks time.
At the beginning of Prime Minister’s Questions the Tory leader brought cheers from his backbenchers with plans to end self-isolation for people who test positive for coronavirus “a full month earlier” than planned.
As he faced renewed criticism over his Jimmy Savile slur against Labour’s Keir Starmer, Johnson sought a further distraction from partygate controversies and his fitness to govern with the announcement.
The move comes despite a warning from Scotland’s top covid adviser that the country is “not close” to the end of the pandemic.
National clinical director, Professor Jason Leith, said he was “very hopeful” about the current coronavirus situation and said Scotland is “getting close to the end” of the Omicron wave.
But he also stressed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had estimated that the pandemic was only “about half way through”.
The rules on self-isolation will remain in place in Scotland and other devolved administrations which are in charge of health policy.
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday hailed a “return to normality” after Omicron infection levels continued to fall.
But she said that baseline measures like vaccine passports and the requirement to wear face coverings in certain settings and in secondary schools will remain in force for now.
The First Minister said Scotland was “through the worst” of the current wave and promised a new strategy for managing covid “less restrictively” on February 22nd.
Johnson told MPs he would present the UK Government’s “Living With Covid” strategy when the Commons returns from its recess a day earlier, on February 21.
He said: “It is my intention to return on the first day after the half-term recess to present our strategy for living with Covid,”
“Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions – including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive – a full month early.”
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