People in England who test positive for Covid will no longer be legally required to self-isolate as Boris Johnson ’s "living with Covid" plan kicks off.
As of today, Thursday February 24, all remaining legal restrictions in England have been replaced with government guidance.
Isolation rules, contact tracing and support payments for people who would have previously self-isolated with Covid will all end, with free testing also set to end by April 1.
Announcing the end of restrictions, the Prime Minister said: "Because of the efforts we have made as a country over the past two years, we can now deal with it in a very different way."
He added that it will be our "personal responsibility" to protect ourselves from the virus going forward.
However, while pretty much all restrictions are being lifted, a few will continue to remain in place. Here’s what they are.
Will Covid travel rules change?
Under the changes, which happened on February 11, fully vaccinated people entering the UK do not need to take any Covid tests.
However, they will still be required to fill in a Passenger Locator Form, and no changes have been announced regarding this yet under the 'living with Covid' plan.
While the Department for Transport was pressing to simplify the Passenger Locator Form or get rid of it completely, this has not happened yet.
Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday that passenger locator forms would be reviewed and likely be scrapped before or by Easter. For now, these forms continue to be requirement for all arrivals in the UK, irrespective of vaccination status.
What are the rules for unvaccinated passengers?
Unvaccinated people will still need to take one pre-departure test and one post-arrival test before entering the UK.
While the requirement to self-isolate until the day 2 test ends today, there has been no other change made to testing for unvaccinated passengers - and it's likely this will stay the same for the foreseeable future, as confirmed by the Department of Transport.
What happens if a new variant emerges?
Officials have said the government will continue to maintain domestic surveillance, including the ONS Covid infection survey, to spot any new variants of concern.
While Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed the government "won’t implement emergency measures in response to new Covid variants unless in extreme circumstances," testing measures in the NHS may be ramped up in the future if needed.
An as-of-yet unannounced "toolkit" for tackling new threats is reportedly being prepared, and this will be set out in detail before Easter.
