‘Living with COVID-19' strategy

From early 2020, policymakers in England introduced a wide range of legislation and interventions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures included national and regional lockdowns, self-isolation requirements, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, and – from December 2020 – a national vaccination programme. 

On 21 February 2022, the government set out plans for a ‘new phase’ of managing COVID-19 in England. The Living with COVID-19 strategy marked a move away from legal requirements regarding isolation towards an approach based on guidance, with a greater emphasis on personal responsibility. 

Announcing the strategy in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that ‘while the pandemic is not over, […] we now have sufficient levels of immunity to complete the transition from protecting people with government interventions to relying on vaccines and treatments as our first line of defence.’ 

Strategy principles 

The government framed its new pandemic approach around four principles: 

• Living with COVID-19: the government replaced domestic restrictions with public health guidance. From 24 February 2022, legal requirements to self-isolate ended, along with self-isolation support payments, routine contact tracing and daily testing for close contacts. Free universal testing for the general public ceased on 1 April 2022, with provisions remaining for the most vulnerable.
• Protecting people most vulnerable to COVID-19: the government moved to more targeted use of vaccination and treatments to protect vulnerable groups. For example, it introduced a ‘spring booster’ programme for older and immunosuppressed individuals and invested in antivirals and therapeutics to support those at highest risk.
• Maintaining resilience: Surveillance systems, such as the Office for National Statistics survey and laboratory networks, continued to track COVID-19 and identify new variants. Government plans remained in place to rapidly scale up testing if needed.
• Securing innovations and opportunities from the COVID-19 response: The government committed to maintaining the vaccine taskforce, supporting therapeutic trials, and updating its biosecurity strategy. 

NHS and social care 

The government stated that its approach in the NHS and social care would focus on supporting the most vulnerable to COVID-19 while maintaining services. The NHS would continue delivering vaccinations, supporting patients with long COVID, researching long-term health impacts, and restoring elective services. In adult social care, key protections would remain, including vaccination among care recipients and staff and providing staff and visitor guidance. The government announced that it would publish updated infection prevention and control guidance by April 2022. 

Response 

Immediate responses by health experts and scientists to lifting the remaining COVID-19 restrictions were negative, with many emphasising the need to maintain a cautionary approach and not remove all restrictions. The British Medical Association, for example, highlighted the risks posed by ending mandatory self-isolation and removing widespread access to free COVID-19 testing, as this would put the most vulnerable members of society at risk. Over 3,360 scientists and doctors signed an open letter to Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer and Patrick Vallance, the UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser, stating that they believed the removal of restrictions would likely increase circulation of coronavirus among the population.