Sajid Javid said the legal requirement for people with covid to self-isolate could be downgraded to "guidance and advice".
Speaking at a press conference this evening (Wednesday, January 19) the health secretary said people must eventually learn to live with the virus as is already the case with flu.
The health secretary said: "We shouldn't see this as the finish line - we cannot eradicate this virus and its future variants. We must learn to live with covid in the same way we've learnt to live with flu."