A doctor has warned that people can't "can't wish away" Covid as it's "not a cold" as he reacts to Boris Johnson's shock plan to end isolation rules.
Dr Amir Khan said during Good Morning Britain a lot of people were "surprised" at how quickly the rules will be scrapped after a plan was announced to end all self-isolation laws in England in two weeks' time.
The Prime Minister said he plans to end the self-isolation rules a "full month earlier" than planned and will confirm the exact date in a statement to MPs on Monday, February 21, the Mirror reports.
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Self-isolation regulations expire on March 24 meaning the law is set to be axed on around Thursday, February 24, two weeks from now.
Dr Amir Khan told GMB hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard: "I think lots of us were surprised at how soon that’s happened, and it’s difficult to separate the political from the science here, because we haven’t heard from the likes of Chris Whitty or Professor Jonathan Van Tam and Sir Patrick Vallance as to what the science behind the change to these rules are, and I think that would be really helpful.
"It does feel very soon and speaking to my colleagues in the NHS, there’s similar sentiments there. Last week, one in 19 people was testing positive for Covid-19."
He also said that while the Omicron variant might be less deadly, it isn't comparable to a cold.
Dr Amir said: "As much as we want the pandemic to be over, we can’t wish it away and it’s not a cold. Covid-19 is not a cold.
"Living with it is not like with a cold or flu, it has serious consequences for many people, not just the clinically vulnerable but those who get the illness and then end up with Long Covid as well.
"So it is worrying that these are going to be changed and like I say, we all want it to be over but there are things that could be done and haven’t been done to try and alleviate the risk to people."
*Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV
