London Defender

The Daily Mirror of the Great Britain

Thursday is Freedom Day! Boris Johnson prepares to lift lockdown restrictions once and for all

Boris Johnson is set to call time tomorrow on the era of national lockdowns and Covid restrictions as he announces that self-isolation rules are to end this week for England.

The Prime Minister is poised to unveil his ‘Living with Covid Plan’, with Thursday earmarked as Freedom Day from virus-related rules.

Mr Johnson is expected to tell MPs upon their return from Parliament’s February recess that the vaccine programme, testing and new treatments can be relied upon to keep the public safe. 

He is also set to announce a timetable to end free lateral flow and PCR tests – which cost the taxpayer £2billion a week. 

In a compromise between the Treasury and Department of Health, free tests are still likely to be available for more vulnerable and older age groups.

But to the anger of many Tory MPs, Mr Johnson is not expected this week to cut the red tape which bedevils UK citizens travelling abroad.  

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured) is poised to unveil his 'Living with Covid Plan', with Thursday earmarked as Freedom Day from virus-related rules

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured) is poised to unveil his 'Living with Covid Plan', with Thursday earmarked as Freedom Day from virus-related rules

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured) is poised to unveil his ‘Living with Covid Plan’, with Thursday earmarked as Freedom Day from virus-related rules

Sources say the issue of passenger locator forms, which travellers have to fill in before they return to the UK, will be addressed later in the spring.

He is also not expected to ease concerns that hospitals will still limit visits to patients, with Government sources saying that is a matter for individual hospital trusts.

The Freedom Day plans come despite warnings from his scientific advisers that Covid cases could soar if the self-isolation rules are ditched.

But ministers said new variants of the virus are expected to follow a similar pattern to Omicron in being more mild than early Covid-19 mutations. 

Government sources stressed that although lockdowns were necessary to save lives, the restrictions had also taken ‘a significant toll’.

In future, the emphasis would be on people to show ‘personal responsibility’ by staying at home if they have Covid – just as they would if they had flu.

Mr Johnson yesterday admitted that ‘Covid will not suddenly disappear’, but added: ‘We need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms.

‘We’ve built up strong protections against this virus over the past two years through the vaccine rollouts, tests, new treatments, and the best scientific understanding of what this virus can do.

‘Thanks to our successful vaccination programme and the sheer magnitude of people who have come forward to be jabbed, we are now in a position to set out our plan for living with Covid this week.’

He is set to confirm that the legal duty introduced in 2020 requiring self-isolation for people who test positive will expire later this week. 

In future, the emphasis would be on people to show 'personal responsibility' by staying at home if they have Covid – just as they would if they had flu. (Pictured: Commuters, some wearing masks, arrive at Waterloo train station in London)

In future, the emphasis would be on people to show 'personal responsibility' by staying at home if they have Covid – just as they would if they had flu. (Pictured: Commuters, some wearing masks, arrive at Waterloo train station in London)

In future, the emphasis would be on people to show ‘personal responsibility’ by staying at home if they have Covid – just as they would if they had flu. (Pictured: Commuters, some wearing masks, arrive at Waterloo train station in London) 

Powers to order national lockdowns will also end, with sources saying it would instead be up to local authorities to manage outbreaks. 

The PM is also expected to leave open the prospect that further Covid jabs could be given, saying he will be guided by expert vaccines body the JCVI.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s future blueprint for dealing with Covid, Labour said people should not be asked to pay for coronavirus tests.

Armed forces minister James Heappey suggested on Thursday that Mr Johnson was likely to announce an end to free lateral flow tests as he called on the public to ‘worry less about the need to have tested ourselves’.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘Boris Johnson is declaring victory before the war is over, in an attempt to distract from the police knocking at his door.

‘Labour doesn’t want to see restrictions in place any longer than they need to be.

‘The Government should publish the evidence behind this decision, so the public can have faith that it is being made in the national interest.

‘Now is not the time to start charging for tests or weaken sick pay, when people are still being asked to behave responsibly.’

Meanwhile, No 10 sources stressed testing ‘surveillance systems and contingency measures’ would be retained for use if required.

Downing Street said pharmaceutical interventions will ‘continue to be our first line of defence’, with the vaccine programme remaining ‘open to anyone who has not yet come forward’.

With 85 per cent of the UK’s population double-vaccinated, and 38million booster jabs administered, No 10 said it had concluded ‘Government intervention in people’s lives can now finally end’.

But it appeared to keep the door open to state-funded infection sampling remaining in place, following reports that Covid studies could be withdrawn as part of the plan.

Officials said Monday’s ‘living with Covid’ plan will maintain ‘resilience against future variants with ongoing surveillance capabilities’.

It comes after senior statistician Sir David Spiegelhalter argued that the Office for National Statistics’ Covid-19 study should remain in place in some form. 

The Cambridge University professor, who is a non-executive director for the ONS and chairman of the advisory board for the Covid Infection Survey, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the results had been vital for monitoring people’s behaviour.

‘It has been absolutely so important as we have gone along,’ he said on Saturday.

‘It has been running since April 2020, and so, as I said, I do have a bias here but it is not just me – I think lots of people are saying how important it is, particularly the statistical community.’ 

UK’s daily Covid cases plunge by a QUARTER on last week to 34,377 as deaths fall by 23% to 128

By Emer Scully for MailOnline

Britain’s Covid-19 cases have fallen by a quarter percent on last week’s figures to 34,377 positive tests in the last 24 hours.

Deaths are also down, by 23 percent on last week, to 128, as figures continue to show the Covid-19 outbreak appears to be shrinking in the country.     

It comes as the Prime Minister is set to unveil his blueprint for ‘living with Covid’ on Monday, with ministers set to finalise the the strategy over the weekend. 

When unveiling his intention to get rid of the last restrictions — including the need for infected people to self-isolate, the PM last week claimed it would only happen if the outbreak continued to recede.

Today’s figures will inevitably give him even more confidence, with cases, deaths and hospitalisations having been in freefall for over a fortnight.

The daily figures show 34,377 positive Covid tests were registered in the last 24 hours, down 25 percent on the 46,025 cases last Saturday.  

NHS chiefs call for free virus tests and self-isolation rules to stay 

Free Covid tests and self-isolation rules must continue, NHS leaders said today in a last ditch attempt to persuade Boris Johnson against dropping all remaining restrictions next week. 

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of NHS Confederation – an organisation that represents leaders across the health service, warned uncertainty over long-term immunity from vaccines and previous infection and the risk of future variants meant it was still too early to drop the final measures.

He urged ministers ‘now is not the time to take risks’, saying the last restrictions should only be relaxed gradually and on the basis of evidence to avoid any sudden flare-ups, even though cases, hospitalisations and deaths have all been trending downwards for weeks as the Omicron wave recedes. 

Calling for the brakes to be slammed onto No10’s ‘living with Covid’ plans, Mr Taylor – Tony Blair’s former policy adviser – said: ‘The Government cannot wave a magic wand and pretend the threat has disappeared entirely.’ He added the move to exit the acute phase of the pandemic ‘must not be driven by political expediency’.

Other healthcare leaders also urged the Prime Minister to re-consider his plans today, saying he should ease the last restrictions ‘gradually’.

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It comes after it was revealed that Mr Johnson’s top scientific advisers fear that next week’s bonfire of the remaining Covid rules could leave Britain battling a variant that kills up to a third of people it infects. 

Documents released from the panel’s last meeting warned that any sudden change to the rules carries the potential to accelerate the pandemic.

One paper discussed by SAGE, which delved into potential scenarios that could emerge over the next few years, dismissed the milder nature of Omicron as being a ‘chance’ event and argued that it’s a ‘common misconception’ that viruses evolve to become weaker.

It warned of a ‘realistic possibility’ that a variant could spawn that is just as lethal as other coronaviruses known to strike humans, such as MERS, which has a 35 per cent case fatality rate. Mutations are more likely while circulation of the virus is high, the panel said.

Referencing the document in its minutes, SAGE warned that the scenario — which they’ve already floated before — remained a ‘valid’ possibility.

Three new papers from the influential group’s last meeting on February 10 were put into the public domain today while three others were published last Friday, including one warning dropping the remaining restrictions would ‘increase anxiety’. 

The PM’s announcement last week was widely seen as a desperate ploy to appease hardline anti-lockdown Tory backbenchers and fend off a flurry of no-confidence letters following a spate of allegations about illegal lockdown parties in Downing Street.

Mr Johnson’s blueprint will be checked over again by ministers on Sunday, Whitehall sources say, before being announced on Monday when Parliament returns from recess.

He has already faced vocal opposition to his plans, with the chief executive of NHS Confederation today saying the Government could not ‘wave a magic wand’ and pretend the virus had disappeared.

Matthew Taylor, who heads up the organisation which represents hospital bosses, urged ministers ‘now is not the time to take risks’.

He said the last restrictions should only be relaxed gradually and on the basis of evidence to avoid any sudden flare-ups, even though cases, hospitalisations and deaths have all been trending downwards for weeks as the Omicron wave recedes.

Matthew Taylor, chief of the NHS Confederation which represents hospital trusts, said ministers could not 'wave a magic wand' and pretend the virus had disappeared (Pictured above on Preston on Sunday)

Matthew Taylor, chief of the NHS Confederation which represents hospital trusts, said ministers could not 'wave a magic wand' and pretend the virus had disappeared (Pictured above on Preston on Sunday)

Professor Dame Helen-Stokes Lampard, who chairs the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, called on ministers to lift restrictions more gradually

Professor Dame Helen-Stokes Lampard, who chairs the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, called on ministers to lift restrictions more gradually

Matthew Taylor, chief of the NHS Confederation which represents hospital trusts, said ministers could not ‘wave a magic wand’ and pretend the virus had disappeared (Pictured left on Preston on Sunday). Professor Dame Helen-Stokes Lampard, who chairs the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, called on ministers to lift restrictions more gradually

The Government's 'Living Safely With Covid' strategy', due to be unveiled next week,  will see free lateral flow swabs dumped from next month, Whitehall sources say (Pictured: Covid testing site in London)

The Government's 'Living Safely With Covid' strategy', due to be unveiled next week,  will see free lateral flow swabs dumped from next month, Whitehall sources say (Pictured: Covid testing site in London)

The Government’s ‘Living Safely With Covid’ strategy’, due to be unveiled next week,  will see free lateral flow swabs dumped from next month, Whitehall sources say (Pictured: Covid testing site in London)

Boris Johnson pictured yesterday visiting RAF Waddingdon, in Lincolnshire. The Prime Minister is currently thrashing out his plan to 'live with' Covid

Boris Johnson pictured yesterday visiting RAF Waddingdon, in Lincolnshire. The Prime Minister is currently thrashing out his plan to 'live with' Covid

Boris Johnson pictured yesterday visiting RAF Waddingdon, in Lincolnshire. The Prime Minister is currently thrashing out his plan to ‘live with’ Covid

Free Covid tests for universities axed ‘from today’, in first sign swabbing drive is being scaled back 

Free Covid tests for universities were stopped today in the first sign Britain’s testing scheme is being scaled back, it was suggested.

Currently students are advised to take two lateral flow swabs a week to check for the virus.

But deliveries of the kits from NHS Test and Trace and the UK Health Security Agency were stopped today, reports The Guardian.

Education leaders only found out about the termination on Wednesday, they reported.

From Saturday they will also no longer be allowed to distribute their stocks on campus.

It comes as Boris Johnson thrashes out his plan for ‘living with’ the virus, which is expected to be a bonfire of the final restrictions.

Set to be announced on Monday when Parliament returns from recess, the Prime Minister has already said it will see the end of self-isolation.

But Whitehall sources have also suggested free lateral flow tests will come to an end under the plans.

Asked about the reports today, ministers said people should ‘wait and see’. 

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Separate papers from SAGE advisers warned Covid transmission could increase by up to 80 per cent if the Government abandons the last restrictions.

The scientists on the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M-O) said: ‘A sudden change, such as an end to testing and isolation, has the scope to lead to a return to rapid epidemic growth.’

They warned a quick uptick could lead to current projections of Covid deaths dropping below 100 a day by March being proved inaccurate, with deaths instead starting to rise again.

SAGE advisers on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) warned it was likely the next variant could be just as dangerous as Alpha and Delta — which triggered waves last winter and summer.

They said it was a ‘realistic possibility’ that a more dangerous variant could emerge either through mutations or a hybrid between two variants emerging — in a process scientifically known as recombination.

In another scenario, they said Covid could jump into animals and the mutate before crossing back to humans.

The virus emerged in an animal host — thought likely to be bats — before spreading to humans. There are also suggestions that the Omicron variant evolved in rodents, although these are yet to be stacked up with evidence.

The committee admitted, however, that over the next few years it was likely the virus would become ‘less virulent’.

They said this would happen as it became ‘fully adapted’ to humans, stopping it triggering serious disease.  

Other scientists have already predicted it is likely that no variant will be able to set the UK back to the same position it was in in March 2020 when the virus first emerged. 

Professor Francois Balloux, a geneticist at University College London, said last week: ‘Some variants will be intrinsically more severe than others, but once everyone has been vaccinated and/or infected multiple times, no variant can set us back to levels of Covid hospitalisation and death we experienced during the pandemic.’

Some SAGE scientists have already called for Britain to start ‘living with’ Covid the same way as with the flu. Professor Graham Medley, No10’s chief modeller, warned the virus ‘can’t be an emergency forever’.

He said last month: ‘At some point it will have to stop being an emergency but that is likely to be a phase out rather than an active point in time where somebody can declare the epidemic over.’ 

Boris Johnson is preparing to lay out his plan for ‘living with’ the virus on Monday when Parliament returns from recess. He has already announced self-isolation will go from next week, and the plan is also expected to see the end of free lateral flow tests from next month.

But the plans are already facing opposition, with NHS chief Mr Taylor warning uncertainty over long-term immunity from vaccines and previous infection and the risk of future variants mean it was still too early to drop the final measures.

He urged ministers ‘now is not the time to take risks’, saying the last restrictions should only be relaxed gradually and on the basis of evidence to avoid any sudden flare-ups, even though cases, hospitalisations and deaths have all been trending downwards for weeks as the Omicron wave recedes. 

Calling for the brakes to be slammed onto No10’s ‘living with Covid’ plans, Mr Taylor – Tony Blair’s former policy adviser – said: ‘The Government cannot wave a magic wand and pretend the threat has disappeared entirely.’ He added the move to exit the acute phase of the pandemic ‘must not be driven by political expediency’.