UK PM Johnson says to end COVID self-isolation requirement this month

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday he intended to end the legal obligation for people in England to self-isolate if they test positive for COVID-19 later this month when he sets out the government’s strategy for living with the disease.

Johnson ended almost all COVID-19 restrictions in England last July, and last month lifted “Plan B” measures that had been temporarily imposed to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

He has said he wishes to go further as part of the shift towards learning to live with COVID, replacing legal requirements for people to self-isolate with guidance.

“It is my intention to return on the first day after the half term recess to present our strategy for living with COVID,” Johnson told lawmakers. Parliament returns on Feb. 21.

“Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last remaining domestic restrictions, including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive, a full month early.”

The requirement is currently due to lapse on March 24, and Johnson had previously said that he would look to bring the end of the requirement forward if he could.

(Reporting by Muvija M and William James, writing by Alistair Smout, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Photo- A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons Chamber in London, Britain. EPA-EFE/JESSICA TAYLOR / UK PARLIAMENT