The legal requirement to self-isolate will be removed from Thursday, and the end of free mass testing from 1 April are among the changes announced in England’s plan for “living with COVID”.
After almost two years living amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that all remaining restrictions are to come to an end and unveiled the government’s plan for “living with COVID” to MPs in the House of Commons yesterday in a bid to move from “government restrictions to personal responsibility”.
Speaking at a Downing Street news conference on Monday evening, Mr Johnson said “today is not the day we can declare victory over COVID”, but admitted that the nation had passed the peak of Omicron, with falling cases and hospital admissions.
He described the pandemic as “two of the darkest, grimmest years in our peacetime history”, but now is the country could complete the “transition back towards normality”.
All the changes announced will be subject to approval by Parliament.
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Announcing the changes yesterday, the Prime Minister said: “Because of the efforts we have made as a country over the past two years, we can now deal with it in a very different way, moving from government restrictions to personal responsibility, so we protect ourselves without losing our abilities and maintaining our contingent capabilities so we can respond rapidly to any new variant.”
Here’s all the changes announced yesterday.
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Covid-19 has not gone away, but because of the efforts we have made as a country over the past two years we can now move from government regulations to personal responsibility.
From today, the government is dropping its guidance for staff and students in most education and childcare settings to undertake twice weekly asymptomatic testing.
From Thursday 24 February
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The legal requirement to self-isolate for those who test positive will end.
Vaccinated contacts of positive cases will no longer be asked to test for seven days.
There will no longer be a legal requirement for close contacts who are not vaccinated to self-isolate.
Contact tracing and venue check-ins on the COVID-19 app will also end.
The £500 self-isolation support payment for people on low incomes who test positive for COVID will no longer be available
COVID provisions for increased statutory sick pay will apply for a further month
On Thursday 24 March, it is expected that the government will issue and update wider guidance on workplace safety that had been changed for COVID.
From 1 April
Free universal testing for symptomatic and asymtomatic people will be scrapped and will instead be targeted at the most vulnerable.
The use of voluntarily COVID status certification will also no longer be recommended.
Remove the health and safety requirement for every employer to explicitly consider COVID-19 in their risk assessments.
People with COVID symptoms will be asked to exercise “personal responsibility” when deciding whether to stay at home.
The government says the country is ready to complete the “transition back towards normality” / Credit: Twitter (@manairport)
Speaking on the decision to end the legal requirement to self-isolate, Mr Johnson continued: “Until 1 April, we will still advise people who test positive to stay at home but after that we will encourage people with COVID-19 symptoms to exercise personal responsibility, just as we encourage people who may have flu to be considerate to others.”
On the end of universal free testing, the prime minister told MPs that the “biggest testing programme per person of any large country in the world” came “at vast cost”.
In an attempt to ensure people do not build up personal stockpiles of free lateral flow tests before the 1 April cut-off, individuals can now only order a box every three days, instead of every 24 hours.
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Mr Johnson added that it is “only because levels of immunity are so high” that the remaining restrictions can be lifted.
He said “vaccines and treatments” must now been seen as “our first line of defence”.
The government says ministers and scientific experts will continue to “track the virus in granular detail”, and that it remains “ready to respond” if a new variant emerges and places unsustainable pressure on the NHS, through surveillance systems and contingency measures such as increased testing capacity or vaccine programmes.
We have come so far as a country and today we are setting out our plan to live with COVID. pic.twitter.com/invJTnKEu5
The government’s plan for “living with COVID” has drawn criticism from opposition and a growing number of medical professionals, including Chaand Nagpaul – Chair of the British Medical Association – who said the decision is “premature” and “not based on current evidence” or “guided by data”.
He said the strategy neglected some of society’s most vulnerable, and instead of giving people more freedom, it was likely to cause “more uncertainty and anxiety”.
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Dr Nagpaul also called for “urgent clarity” on testing for NHS workers to protect staff and patients, and that “protections must be maintained for the most vulnerable, including the provision of enhanced face masks, and clear guidance for both patients and clinicians”.
The government’s scientific advisers on its SAGE committee also emphasised that there is “considerable uncertainty about the path the pandemic will now take in the UK”.
Chris Hopson – Chief Executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts – said many NHS figures were “concerned about the potential impact of these decisions”, and that it was “vital” the government was ready to restore phased out testing and surveillance systems should they be needed.
Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”