New rules surrounding self-isolation and coronavirus testing will come into full effect today as part of the government's 'living with Covid' plan.
From today, there will be no legal obligation to self-isolate if you test positive with Covid-19.
But, people who test positive are still advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for at least five full days.
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During a Downing Street press conference on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "Until April 1, we will still advise people who test positive to stay at home, but after that, we encourage people with Covid symptoms to exercise personal responsibility, just as we encourage people who may have flu to be considerate to others."
He later added: "It is time we got our confidence back, we don't need laws to compel people to be considerate to others - we can rely on that sense of responsibility toward each other.
"Let us learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves and others without restricting our freedoms."
A number of changes around testing and isolation will be coming into force today.
Here's everything you need to know:
- Vaccinated adults and those under 18 will no longer be asked to test for seven days if they are a close contact of a positive case
- The legal requirement for unvaccinated close contacts to self-isolate will be removed
- Routine contact tracing will end
- The self-isolation £500 payment and some of the practical support that goes with it will be scrapped
- You are no longer legally obligated to tell employers when required to self-isolate
- Domestic regulations under the Health Protection No3 expire, meaning councils lose coronavirus powers
The plan has been criticised by Labour, which argues the government has not effectively considered the consequences, while some scientists have argued it is too early to end self-isolation.
Around one in 25 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to February 19, or 2.1 million people, according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is down from one in 20, or 2.4 million people in the week to February 12.
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