The legal duty to self-isolate with Covid-19 will also lapse from 24 March, Mr Johnson said, “just as we don’t place legal obligations on people to isolate if they have flu”.
Face coverings will be scrapped in classrooms from this Thursday, with school communal areas to follow. The bonfire of Covid rules came after ONS data showed Covid-19 cases were falling in most parts of England and after government scientists judged the Omicron variant had “now peaked nationally”.
But scrapping Covid measures “will do nothing to relieve the pressure” on hospitals and the virus hasn’t “magically disappeared,” nursing and NHS leaders warned. The NHS is still battling extreme pressures such as high levels of staff sickness, record-length delays in emergency care and a growing backlog that has left 6 million on waiting lists.
This story is from the January 20, 2022 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 20, 2022 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Trump Decries ‘Unfair' Trial As Hush-Money Case Begins
Donald Trump unloaded on reporters and news cameras for nine minutes outside of a courtroom, where jurors were assembled for the first time to hear the first-ever criminal trial of an American president.
Palmer illness could rule him out against Arsenal
Cole Palmer is a major doubt for tonight’s Premier League encounter with Arsenal after the Chelsea forward missed yesterday’s training with illness.
Clough would be disgusted by Forest's serial whinging
If the two highest points in Nottingham Forest’s history occurred in Munich and Madrid in 1979 and 1980 respectively, one of the lower moments occurred at Goodison Park in 2024.
Antony's gloating shows.just how clueless United are
The majority of Manchester United’s players were almost too embarrassed to celebrate such an undignified victory at Wembley.
Turbulence that won't make viewers stay in their seats
Shows set 40,000ft in the air usually provide plenty of drama but it’s a bumpy ride for ITV’s Red Eye’, says Louis Chilton
STUFF AND ONSENS
As Shogun’, the historical drama set in ancient Japan, rapidly becomes the biggest television hit of the year, Nicole Vassell visits some of the real-life locations that inspired the show
It's not just the heartbreak, it's wasting the ‘baby years'
On her new album, Taylor Swift nails the specific grief of breakups for women in their thirties, writes Helen Coffey
I'm confused about rights relating to the rail strike
Taxpayer subsidies are running at £2.8bn annually on top of the normal support.
Heard the one about eight friends who walked into a bar and bought a racehorse?
The story of Showtime is a sporting thriller captured on TV, as Zoé Beaty talks to those who found meaning in a mare
Burning issue: why Indian men are setting fire to pants
‘Anti-male policies’ and women-centric gender-biased laws’ are stirring controversy but Shahana Yasmin says the claims of male campaigners don’t reflect the reality of women’s lives