For many, Covid feels like a bad memory that we’d like to forget, but for others it is still a very real worry.
The UK has seemingly returned to normal in 2022, with festivals such as Glastonbury and events like the Platinum Jubilee bringing millions of people together.
However, Covid cases are rising, with growing concern over a fifth wave of the virus.
Due to the vaccines and natural immunity building up, its lethality is severely reduced, but high-risk people are still of concern.
The government's road to wipe away Covid rules continues though, as paid leave for NHS staff isolating with coronavirus has been scrapped.
From July 7, NHS workers with Covid-like symptoms will no longer be able to have paid leave for their time off.
The Royal College of Nursing said the decision showed "how little the UK government values its nursing staff."
Here is what to do now if you test positive with coronavirus, after all remaining Covid rules were lifted earlier this year.
What should you do if you get a positive Covid-19 test result?
All Covid restrictions were lifted in the UK in February 2022.
The government’s guidance is now to “live with Covid”, allowing the public to make an informed choice on socialising, mask-wearing and self-isolating.
This means that staying at home following a positive test is no longer required, but thanks to the vaccines and herd immunity, the lethality has been drastically reduced.
As stated on the NHS website, advice is simply to “try to stay at home and avoid contact with others if you have tested positive for coronavirus or have symptoms of Covid-19 ”.
It still encourages people to avoid mixing with high-risk individuals, stating: “You should avoid being in close contact with people at higher risk from Covid-19.
“This is particularly important if their immune system means they’re at higher risk of serious illness from Covid-19, even if they’ve had a Covid-19 vaccine.”
Of course, there is no law forcing you to do anything, but it is down to individuals to make an informed and considered choice.
How many Covid cases are in the UK?
Covid cases are on the rise in the UK, with some experts suggesting we are in the middle of a fifth wave.
Cases have jumped by 32% in the past week, with an estimated 2.3 million people (or one in 30) now having the virus.
According to the Office for National Statistics, there was a rise of 500,000 cases last week, with 9,000 hospital beds taken up by Covid patients across England.
Speaking to the BBC, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Dame Jenny Harries, said: "It doesn't look as though that wave has finished yet, so we would anticipate that hospital cases will rise.
"For this particular wave we have some evidence there may be some slight reduction of the effectiveness of vaccines on variants, but they are still maintaining the majority of people, keeping them safe from severe disease and out of hospital."
What should I do if I'm diagnosed with Covid-19?
Because of the lack of Covid rules now, you're technically free to go about your normal life if you're infectious - although some commercial spaces and businesses will ask you not to enter if you have symptoms.
The government has not hinted at the return of restrictions, with health researchers saying it is unlikely to happen.
Speaking to CNBC, Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said: “I don’t think we will have any mandatory restrictions unless the situation looks unmanageable for the health service, and especially the critical care service.”
The government looks committed to its plan of “living with Covid” following all restrictions being lifted in February.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam England’s former deputy chief medical officer, told BBC Radio 4: “In terms of its kind of lethality, the picture now is much, much, much closer to seasonal flu than it was when [Covid] first emerged.”
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