Boris Johnson scraps Covid restrictions in UK

London, February 21

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday laid out the details of his “living with Covid” plan, which involves an end to the legal requirement to self-isolate after a positive Covid test from Thursday and a rollback of free mass Covid tests from April.

In a House of Commons statement, the UK Prime Minister confirmed that all temporary laws brought in to tackle the pandemic in March 2020 would lapse next month as part of his strategy to shift away from government mandate to personal responsibility.

He declared that the country’s health strategy would now be geared towards vaccines and therapeutics, including accepting the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advice to offer a fourth booster dose to all those aged over 75 and the most vulnerable groups over the next few months.

“While the pandemic is not over, we have now passed the peak of the Omicron wave with cases falling, hospitalisations now below 10,000 in England and the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths substantially weakened,” he said. — PTI

Jordan PM tests +ve

Cairo: Jordan’s Prime Minister Bishr al-Khasawneh tested positive for Covid on Monday with no visible symptoms, a government spokesman said. Al-Khasawneh’s diagnosis came while he was in Cairo, heading his country’s delegation in cooperation talks with Egyptian officials. AP

Mass testing to end from April 1

After April 1, people showing Covid symptoms will be encouraged to exercise personal responsibility and consideration, similar to the flu. Contact tracing will also come to an end.