When will England change its Covid rules?


Jamie Prentis
  • English
  • Arabic

All domestic Covid rules in England are expected to be dropped by the end of February, a month before the government had initially planned to make the move.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament the decision was motivated by “encouraging trends in the data”.

Parliament will break up on Friday until February 21, when Mr Johnson is expected to outline the government’s strategy.

“It is my intention to return on the first day after the half-term recess to present our strategy for living with Covid,” he said.

“Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions, including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive, a full month early.”

Those self-isolation restrictions had been due to expire on March 24 but the requirement is now expected to be replaced by guidance to stay at home.

Currently, those who contract the virus are able to end their isolation five full days from testing positive or from when symptoms first arose, if they test negative on days five and six, the first day of their illness being day zero.

“What we would simply be doing is removing the domestic regulations which relate to isolation,” Mr Johnson’s spokesman said.

“But obviously in the same way someone with flu ... we wouldn’t recommend they go to work, we would never recommend anyone goes to work when they have an infectious disease.”

The government ended almost all Covid-19 restrictions in England last July, and last month lifted Plan B measures that had been imposed temporarily to slow the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant.

Those included a requirement to wear a face mask in shops and on public transport, as well as guidance to work from home.

From Friday, the requirement for vaccinated travellers arriving in the country to take a Covid-19 test is also being dropped.

The devolved governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are responsible for setting their own coronavirus rules and restrictions.

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Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

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MATCH INFO

Day 1 at Mount Maunganui

England 241-4

Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28

New Zealand 

Yet to bat

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Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

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  1. Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
  2. Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
  3. Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
  4. Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
  5. Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
  6. Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
  7. Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
  8. Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Silent Hill f

Publisher: Konami

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Rating: 4.5/5

The biog

Name: Abeer Al Bah

Born: 1972

Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992

Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why seagrass matters
  • Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
  • Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
  • Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
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Brief scoreline:

Manchester United 2

Rashford 28', Martial 72'

Watford 1

Doucoure 90'

Specs

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Director: Sriram Raghavan

Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18

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Rating: 3.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68

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Company name: Dharma

Date started: 2018

Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: TravelTech

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs

 

 

Six tips to secure your smart home

Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.

Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.

Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.

Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.

Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.

Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.

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Updated: February 10, 2022, 12:17 PM