“Boris Johnson wants to permanently repeal emergency coronavirus laws as case numbers continue to fall,” per the latest UK Telegraph piece published late Sunday. The news also adds, “Instead, official guidance would remain in place which encourages people to behave in certain ways, but would not result in fines or legal punishment if ignored.”
Key quotes
People will no longer be legally bound to self-isolate when they catch Covid-19 under plans being drawn up by Downing Street to learn to live with coronavirus in the long term.
It would also mean there would be no legal requirement to isolate after contact with someone who has Covid or to wear face masks in certain settings.
A senior government source told The Telegraph: “Lots of legal requirements were put in place during the pandemic.
The move comes as hope grows that this winter’s Covid surge triggered by the emergence of the omicron variant is easing, with daily case numbers continuing to fall.
On Sunday, the Government said a further 70,924 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases have been recorded in the UK.
The Department of Health reported 88 deaths on Sunday within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 – a 9.2 percent decline on the 97 fatalities recorded on the same day the week before.
Downing Street is looking at three different drives to ease pandemic restrictions, some short-term and some long-term.
The so-called Plan B restrictions are expected to be largely lifted on January 26, the review date that the Prime Minister set when he imposed them last month.
FX implications
The news seems to help the GBP/USD prices to stay afloat past the 1.3655 support confluence following the last week’s pullback from the 200-DMA.
Read: GBP/USD Price Analysis: Further downside hinges on 1.3655 break