Columnists >> The Guardian

If you’re clinically vulnerable in England, Johnson’s ‘new normal’ is a kick in the teeth

Link [2022-02-26 11:55:35]

Many high-risk people feel they must now shut themselves away again – only with none of the support available in 2020

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And with that, Boris Johnson ended all remaining pandemic measures in England. Those who test positive for Covid will no longer have to isolate by law from this Thursday – and from April will not even be advised to stay at home if infected. The £500 self-isolation payment for some people on lower incomes will end. Meanwhile, free testing for the vast majority of the public will end from 1 April, apart from some symptomatic clinically vulnerable and very elderly people. It will soon be entirely legal to test positive – if you’ve even got that far – for coronavirus and then wander into a packed pub.

This was less a plan to “live with coronavirus”, and more to simply ignore it. Ministers offered no epidemiological evidence for pulling Covid protections this winter, with experts warning it could cause a rapid rise in the virus.

Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist

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