On Monday (21 February), Prime Minister Boris Johnson, announced the ‘Living with COVID-19’ plan, and the end of restrictions in England.

This doesn’t mean COVID has ended. We still have a duty to protect ourselves as well as our most vulnerable friends, family members, and loved ones.

The changes mean that from Thursday, the legal requirement to test and isolate will be removed, however citizens are advised to continue to keep up to date with public health guidance and take action to protect others from infection.  The current guidance can be accessed online.

Routine contact tracing will also end at the same time and close contacts will no longer be legally required to self-isolate or take daily tests for seven days. £500 self-isolation support payments will also end although the COVID-19 provisions for Statutory Sick Pay will remain in place until Thursday 24 March.

Despite these changes, the message is clear that the pandemic is not over and everyone should continue to take action to reduce the risk of catching COVID-19 and spreading it to friends, family, and people around us. These include:

  • Wearing a face covering in crowded or enclosed spaces
  • Regularly washing or sanitising our hands
  • Opening a window when meeting indoors to help disperse COVID-19 particles
  • Continue using Rapid Lateral Flow Tests (LFT)
  • Booking a PCR test and self-isolating if we do have symptoms

Councillor Roy Webb, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Housing, said:

Vaccination has been proved to be effective in reducing COVID-19 symptoms. As our response to the pandemic evolves, getting vaccinated with two doses and a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is one of our best defences against COVID-19 alongside behaviors such as social distancing and good hand hygiene. Vaccination can reduce the spread of COVID-19 and help lessen the effects of the virus if you test positive. Vaccines are safe, effective, and scientific evidence has shown they help break the link between transmission, hospitalisation and death.

Whilst this is not compulsory, it is our responsibility to protect not only ourselves, but also others who we may come into contact with whether that’s friends, family, or other people in Derby.”

If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you can book a PCR test online. If you have not yet had your COVID-19 vaccine and booster, there are several walk-in centres around Derby. You can also book your COVID-19 vaccine and booster online.

Further guidance about COVID-19 guidance and restrictions is available on the Government website.