Boris Johnson scraps Covid restrictions in UK

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that he is scrapping the last domestic coronavirus restrictions in England, including the requirement for people with Covid-19 to self-isolate. Johnson said the country was “moving from government restrictions to personal responsibility” as part of a plan for treating Covid-19 like other transmissible illnesses such as flu. “We now have sufficient levels of immunity to complete the transition from protecting people with government interventions to relying on vaccines and treatments as the first line of defence,” Johnson said. "Restrictions pose a heavy toll on our economy, our society, our mental wellbeing and on the life chances of our children, and we do not need to pay that cost any longer," Johnson told parliament.

Johnson's "living with Covid" plan has sparked alarm that it is premature and will leave the country vulnerable to new viral variants, but the government says it has provided more testing than most other countries, and must now curb the cost. The devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have set their own Covid-19 restrictions, but the amount of money they have to spend on testing will flow from decisions made by the UK government. Leaders in Scotland and Wales had criticised Johnson's plans to reduce the availability of testing ahead of the announcement, while leader of the opposition Keir Starmer also said that the plan was ill-conceived.