Government to drop all Covid-19 restrictions in England
By Rachel Lawler
The Prime Minister has confirmed that the government will remove all legal Covid-19 restrictions as part of its "strategy for living with Covid", which will see a move from "government restrictions" to "personal responsibility".
Speaking in the House of Commons, Boris Johnson announced that:
As of 21 February, the government will:
- remove the guidance for staff and students in most education and childcare settings to undertake twice weekly asymptomatic testing
As of Thursday 24 February, the government will:
- remove all remaining domestic Covid-19 restrictions in law, including the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive Covid-19 test. This will be replaced with government 'advice' to stay at home if positive for Covid-19 until Friday 1 April.
- end self-isolation support payments, although Covid provisions for statutory sick pay (SSP) will still be able to be claimed for a further month.
- end routine contact tracing, and no longer ask fully vaccinated close contacts and under-18s to test daily for seven days.
- remove the legal requirement for close contacts who are not fully vaccinated to self-isolate.
As of Friday 1 April, the government will:
- replace government advice to stay at home following a positive Covid-19 test with the expectation that people will 'exercise personal responsibility'.
- end free symptomatic and asymptomatic testing for the general public, though free symptomatic testing to the oldest age groups and those most vulnerable to Covid will continue. The government also intends to work with retailers to ensure that "everyone who wants to can buy a test".
Neil Leitch, CEO of the Alliance, commented: 鈥淲hile we know that many working in the early years sector will welcome today鈥檚 step towards a return to normal, it is likely that many others will be understandably worried about the potential impact of the removal of self-isolation requirements on the safety and wellbeing of not only themselves, but their colleagues and loved ones.
鈥淓arly years providers have gone above and beyond to keep their settings as safe as possible throughout this crisis, but with reports of positive cases within the sector soaring to record highs over recent weeks, it鈥檚 clear that for our sector, the pandemic is not yet over.
鈥淲ith under-fives now the only group not eligible for vaccinations and the early years remaining a particularly close-contact environment, it is vital that the government ensures that those working in the early years sector are protected as the changes announced today come into effect. This means ensuring that providers are actively supported to apply and enforce their own Covid-19 policies, based on their own professional judgement and risk assessments, and to take the steps they feel are needed to keep themselves and the children and families they support as safe as possible.鈥