PM’s plan for ‘living with Covid’

The prime minister has said his “living with Covid” plan will bring the country “towards a return to normality” as he intends to scrap the requirement to self-isolate in England.

Boris Johnson will meet with his Cabinet this morning before updating MPs on his blueprint for moving out of the pandemic.

He said the proposal would be about “finally giving people back their freedom” after “one of the most difficult periods in our country’s history”.

The UK was one of the worst-hit European nations during the first wave of coronavirus in 2020, with more than 181,000 people having Covid recorded on their death certificate.

The prime minister’s announcement will come just over 24 hours after it was confirmed the Queen had tested positive for coronavirus.

As announced on Saturday, the UK Government is planning to scrap the legal duty for those who test positive for coronavirus to have to self-isolate by the end of the week.

According to the Mail On Sunday, the requirement will be lifted by Thursday.

The newspaper said the prime minister will set out a timetable for scaling back the availability of free tests.

Mr Johnson told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme that the UK spent £2 billion on testing in January alone and that such high expenditure did not need to continue.

Boris Johnson.