UK’s Johnson suggests imminent end to self-isolation for people with COVID

By AP 9 February 2022, 4:00 pm

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A man wearing a face mask to curb the spread of coronavirus walks past a health campaign poster from the One NGO, in an underpass leading to Westminster underground train station, in London, on January 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggests that laws requiring people in England with COVID-19 to self-isolate will be lifted within weeks, bringing an end to all domestic coronavirus restrictions.

“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,” Johnson tells Parliament.

He adds that he plans to present his plan for living with the virus when Parliament returns from a short break on Feb. 21.

Johnson’s Conservative government dropped most remaining COVID-19 restrictions last month. Face masks are no longer mandatory anywhere in England, except on London’s public transport network. Virus passports for gaining entry to nightclubs and large-scale events were scrapped, as was the official advice to work from home.