DEFIANT BORIS WILL AXE ALL COVID RULES

PM says it’s time we learn to live with virus

- David Williamson

BORIS Johnson will announce the end of all Covid restrictions in England this week, as he tells the country “we need to learn to live with the virus”.

He will meet with the Cabinet tomorrow to get a green light to end the legal duty on people who test positive to self-isolate.

However, the changes – expected to come into force on Thursday – are controversial, with some medics warning the move is “premature” and a “big leap in the dark”.

But the PM argues the time has come to move from “Government intervention to personal responsibility”.

Mr Johnson, who will lay out his vision for the future tomorrow, said: “Covid will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms.

“We’ve built up strong protections 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.”

Nevertheless, polling for the Sunday Express shows swathes of the public still plan to exercise caution rather than rush back to full normality.

Half of respondents in a Redfield & Wilton survey said they will continue to isolate if they test positive or get tested if they show any signs of symptoms.