Why 'personal responsibility' is key in Boris Johnson's 'living with Covid' plan - Laura Collins, YEP Editor

As restrictions started to ease and we could meet family and friends once again we all lived under the cloud of uncertainty of the dreaded ping from the NHS app.

And what followed was the ten days of isolation - relying on various shopping apps to make sure you don’t run out of the essentials while restricted to the confines of your own home.

Coupled along with the feeling of guilt when you’d invited friends to a birthday meal for the small group to then be stuck in isolation after celebrating with a cheeky cocktail.

We’ve all been there when we’ve had to endure 10 days of starting to feel stir crazy staring at the same four walls - there are only so many Zoom calls you can do in a week.

And then to rub salt into the wound when not a single person within that small group tested positive for Covid on a PCR test after the dreaded ping.

Those days feel like a distant memory now as the Prime Minister now prepares to end the legal requirement for self-isolation.

Today Boris Johnson is expected to repeal all pandemic regulations that restrict public freedoms in England when he lays out his vision for the future.

And now the Government is expected to encourage personal responsibility as we learn to continue to live with the virus.

He added that the public should remain cautious, and get vaccinated if they are yet to do so. “I think it’s very important we should remain careful,” he told reporters at the weekend.

The Prime Minister also said the UK cannot continue to spend £2 billion a month on testing.

It will come as little relief to the most vulnerable who rely on those tests to ensure that they can safely and confidently meet with others.

Scrapping free Covid tests will be “madness” and disproportionately hit frontline workers in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, the Trades Union Congress leader has warned.

And she’s right - as finances continue to be squeezed how many people will put their hand in their pocket for a test?

And education leaders are warning of chaos in schools as unions are urging the Prime Minister to keep in place free testing and the requirement to self-isolate.

Meanwhile, the move to end self-isolation requirements for positive Covid cases has been criticised by experts. The news comes as the Queen was diagnosed with Covid at the weekend, Buckingham Palace officials have confirmed.

Many of us will no doubt welcome the end of the restrictions that have dominated our lives over the last two years.

Personal responsibility will be absolutely crucial in the coming weeks and months if infection levels are to be kept under control.

After all, we are not completely out of the woods yet as levels of infection remain high, with about one in 20 people catching it in the past week.

As we learn to live with the virus it’s still important we take that personal responsibility seriously - to continue to protect ourselves and those around us.