'Learn to live with this virus': Boris Johnson scraps Covid restrictions in UK
India Today
As part of his government's 'Living With Covid' plan, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would end all coronavirus restrictions in England including mandatory self-isolation for people with Covid-19.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday said he would end all coronavirus restrictions in England including mandatory self-isolation for people with Covid-19 and free testing, drawing scepticism from some scientists and political opponents.
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 plan to ditch the remaining legal restrictions is a priority for many of Johnson's Conservative Party lawmakers, whose discontent over his scandal-ridden leadership has threatened his grip on power. Some critics think the plan is also a bid to divert attention from those scandals.
Britain has reported 160,00 deaths from Covid-19, the seventh-highest death toll in the world.
As Hong Kong builds isolation units and Europe retains social distancing and vaccine rules, Johnson is moving to repeal any pandemic requirements that impinge on personal freedoms, saying it is time the public took responsibility.
He will lean even more on the rollout of booster vaccines, with the government offering extra booster doses to the most vulnerable, as well as other pharmaceuticals interventions such as antiviral treatments.
"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.
