A secret Whitehall plan detailing a new Covid exit strategy has reportedly been leaked to The Mail on Sunday.
Marked as ‘Official Sensitive’, the plan is believed to have been drawn up by the senior Government officials tasked with winding down Britain's battle against the Covid pandemic.
The report gives a glimpse of how life might look post-Covid.
According to a source, the documents dubbed Operation Rampdown reveals officials are examining 'what activities can we start ramping down before April?' and what the 'end state' of Britain's response to Covid should be after April.
The Rampdown strategy is expected to detail how much of the Government's £37 billion emergency programme funding will be dismantled.
Here are five things you need to know about the Covid exit strategy.
Self-isolation could be axed
The strict rules that force those who test positive for Covid to self-isolate could be scrapped under the exit strategy.
The self-isolation laws were extended last September, meaning those who caught the virus and any unvaccinated people who were exposed to it were required to self-isolate for ten days.
It suggests that there will no longer be a need for mandatory isolation once legal powers expire in March.
This could also mean that the scheme that pays out £500 to the low-income groups self-isolating will also be axed.
No more free Covid tests
Under the Covid response plan, anyone can request free lateral flow tests which will be delivered at home.
But this universal free Covid testing could be scrapped under the Rampdown strategy.
Instead, the dossier reveals that officials maybe preparing to kick-start a 'private testing market' in which companies will charge people for tests.
This could see around 500 firms offering 150 different testing products are already apparently undergoing the accreditation process.
‘Test and Trace’ system might be shut down
The national Test and Trace service, which was set up in May 2020 and handed a £37billion budget to identify those exposed to the virus, is expected to be dramatically cut next year.
The responsibility to trace infections could be handed over from the NHS and local authorities. Contact tracing was the responsibility of local public health officials before the pandemic.
Focus on tackling local outbreaks
Ministers will be presented with a list of 'core functions' that will be needed to respond to any future devastating outbreak.
This includes new plans codenamed Rising Tide, which details how to respond to any new mutant strain of the virus arriving in the UK.
Learning to live with Covid at 'endemic' levels for years
The virus is expected to remain widespread within the population, but the documents details that Britain will have to learn to ‘live with the virus.’
The aim of any future government strategies is likely to be treating Covid like any other respiratory infection or seasonal flu.
Everything about the exit strategy is still speculation, with a Government spokesman clarifying last night that the future plans to tackle Covid remain under review and that no decisions have been taken about next year.
