COVID self-isolation rules in England set to be scrapped by Boris Johnson by the end of next week

People in England will no longer have to self-isolate after testing positive for coronavirus by the end of next week, Downing Street has said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce the decision on Monday, which also applies to close contacts, as he moves to scrap all remaining COVID-19 restrictions.

When he unveils his “living with COVID” plan, he is expected to tell MPs that the vaccine programme, testing and new treatments will be enough to keep the public safe.

There are reports that the provision of free home-delivered lateral flow tests could also end, but this has yet to be confirmed.

‘We need to learn to live with the virus’

Ahead of the announcement, Mr Johnson said: “COVID will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms.

“We’ve built up strong protections against this virus over the past two years through the vaccine rollouts, tests, new treatments, and the best scientific understanding of what this virus can do.

“Thanks to our successful vaccination programme and the sheer magnitude of people who have come forward to be jabbed we are now in a position to set out our plan for living with COVID.”

Asked if the change would mean people could go to work if they had COVID, the PM’s official spokesman previously said “there would be guidance, that would not be what we are recommending”.

Local authorities will have to manage outbreaks using pre-existing public health powers – the same as for other diseases.