Arundel & South Downs MP, Andrew Griffith, has commented on the Government’s plan for ‘Living with Covid’, branding the move as “sensible and timely”.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced in the House of Commons that from 24th February the Government will remove the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test. He also announced that the Government will no longer ask fully vaccinated close contacts of a positive Covid-19 case to test daily and that it will revoke The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations which are currently in law.
In its plan, the Government state that although free testing will end for most people, testing will be available for at-risk groups. As it sets out in its plan document, people will still be encouraged to adopt safer behaviours to reduce the risk of infection, including getting vaccinated, making the most of fresh, staying at home if they are unwell and wearing a face covering in crowded areas.
Latest Government data shows that as a result of wide-ranging immunity, as well as new treatments such as antivirals, the link between Covid-19 infections and severe disease has been wakened with less than 1 in 100 cases requiring hospital treatment compared to 4 in 100 at the start of the pandemic.
Commenting, Andrew Griffith said:
“I am pleased that the Government has taken this sensible and timely decision to remove the legal requirement to self-isolate. The latest data shows that, thanks to our world-leading vaccination programme and development of ground-breaking treatments, Covid-19 no longer poses the risk it once did.
Although the global pandemic is not yet over, I am glad that we are able to exercise personal responsibility in protecting ourselves against Covid-19, with this decision marking a landmark moment in our fight against the virus.”
