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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out his \u2018strategy for living with COVID<\/a>\u2019, which includes ending all domestic restrictions in England, including the legal requirement to self-isolate after a positive COVID test. Johnson says the guidance is \u201cmoving from government restrictions to personal responsibility\u201d.<\/p>\n The restrictions were due to expire on 24 March 2022, but will now end one month earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom 24 February, we will end the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test, and so we will also end self-isolation support payments, although COVID provisions for Statutory Sick Pay can still be claimed for a further month,\u201d Johnson told the House of Commons<\/a> on 21 February.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more coronavirus news:<\/strong><\/p>\n However, some scientists and doctors have expressed concern that the move is too soon and that it relies too heavily on vaccinations.<\/p>\n \u201cRemoving the requirement for isolation in the face of high infection levels will inevitably result in increased spread of the virus,\u201d Professor Lawrence Young<\/a>, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at University of Warwick, told the Science Media Centre.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real level of current infection is uncertain given increasing use of lateral flow tests and inadequate reporting. This will be further compromised as people will not see the value of testing when they have symptoms or come into contact with infected individuals.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to remain vigilant for the arrival of new variants and not let our guard down \u2013 testing, tracing and virus genome surveillance are vital. It is important that we stress the need to continue to protect the clinically vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to the announcement, Dr David Strain<\/a>, the clinical lead for COVID services at the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, spoke to BBC Science Focus.<\/em> He said ending the requirement for self-isolation with COVID-19 is premature. While learning to live with COVID is something we all want, Strain said we should be focusing on the current situation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are really keen that we do, at some point, get rid of these restrictions and find ways to live with it. But for as long as hospital waiting lists are still growing, and we still have more people in hospital than we did when we went into Plan B, I think we\u2019re probably premature to be dropping these restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are once again pushing those who are clinically extremely vulnerable back into isolation, whether that be based on their age, whether it be on their co-morbidities\u2026 anybody who\u2019s got cancer or who\u2019s got a kidney disease. It\u2019s putting all of that population back into isolation again. Except this time it\u2019s doing so without a legal mandate and therefore without financial protection for those who need to work from home.\u201d<\/p>\n 63% of Britons oppose the decision for people in England to no longer have to self-isolate if they test positive for Covid-19Shouldn\u2019t we be learning to live with COVID?<\/h2>\n