INTERNATIONAL: British Prime Minister Boris on Monday ,February 21, has said he would end all coronavirus restrictions in England including mandatory self-isolation for people with Cpvid-19 and free testing, drawing skepticism from some scientists and political opponents.

Johnson's "living with Covid" plan has sparked alarm that it is premature and will leave the country vulnerable to new viral variants, but the government says it has provided more testing than most other countries, and must now curb the cost.

As Hong Kong builds isolation units and Europe retains social distancing and vaccine rules, Johnson is moving to repeal any pandemic requirements that impinge on personal freedoms, saying it is time the public took responsibility.

He will lean even more on the rollout of booster vaccines, with the government offering extra booster doses to the most vulnerable, as well as other pharmaceuticals interventions such as antiviral treatments.

Johnson has also said that the legal requirement to self-isolate for people who test positive for Covid would be removed on February 24 while free universal testing would end on April 1.

But he said that some surveillance of the coronavirus would remain in place, allowing for a rapid response to new variants, which could be quickly scaled up.

The plan to ditch remaining legal restrictions is a priority for many of Johnson's Conservative Party lawmakers whose discontent over his scandal-ridden leadership has threatened his grip on power.