prepared for any potential future waves of the virus.| that was emma vardy at stormont. our medical editor fergus walsh is with me. first question is lots of people are asking today, are these changes announced by borisjohnson justified by the latest figures on the pandemic? by the latest figures on the andemic? , ., , ., , pandemic? the number of people in hosital pandemic? the number of people in hospital with pandemic? the number of people in hospital with covid pandemic? the number of people in hospital with covid has pandemic? the number of people in hospital with covid has been - pandemic? the number of people in hospital with covid has been falling | hospital with covid has been falling every month and overall deaths this winter are lower than normal so there has been no access from omicron. as a population level we have very strong protection from covid as a result of highly effective vaccines and millions of us have had our immunity topped up from getting omicron, plus
restricting our freedoms. this is a half baked announcement from a government paralysed by chaos and incompetence. it is not a plan to live well with covid. we ll be asking if the latest figures justify the change and we ll look at the different positions in scotland, wales and northern ireland. also tonight, president putin moves closer to a military invasion of ukraine, he tells the russian people that he s formally recognised two breakaway regions. despite weeks of diplomacy and a string of world leaders are urging vladimir putin to ease tension, the kremlin has triggered a major escalation of this crisis. the latest on storm franklin bringing heavy rain and strong winds to many parts of the uk. and, tributes are paid to the music entrepreneur and promoterjamal edwards,
laws which you must stay at home. today, the laws which governed you must stay at home. today, the laws which governed our you must stay at home. today, the laws which governed our behaviour| laws which governed our behaviour swept away. we will remove all remaining domestic restrictions in law. so from this thursday, if you test positive in england it won t be law to stay at home. from april, only the most vulnerable will get free covid tests but there will be another booster vaccine for the elderly and those at risk. mr speaker. elderly and those at risk. mr speaker. it elderly and those at risk. m speaker, it is time that we got our confidence back. we don t lead laws to compel people to be considerate to compel people to be considerate to others, so let us learn to live with this virus. to others, so let us learn to live with this virus. minister, is it too soon to relax with this virus. minister, is it too soon to relax restrictions? - with this virus. minister, is it
yeah. so i think we just need to go very carefully, i we need to monitor carefully and be prepared to react pcr testing sites will be wound down in england and free lateral flow tests cut back. that is proving more contentious. zoe is a secondary school teacher. she thinks the relaxation of isolation rules may be good for her children and other pupils without symptoms, but not necessarily everyone. for the sake of getting people back to work, etc, i think it s very good, but we do have vulnerable members of staff in our school, and i just think they may feel very differently about it to how i do. moving on from restrictions at this centre, my skate world, and in the wider community, they ll still have to learn to live with covid. hugh pym, bbc news, eastbourne. many business leaders particularly in the hospitality sector have been calling for a return to normality as soon as possible.
will outline her plan on living with covid, in the scottish parliament tomorrow. she said there will be some optimism as we move to a new phase in the pandemic but, ahead of that, she said that anyone who tests positive with covid should self isolate. she also disagrees with any sudden change to testing arrangements. she would prefer a slower move to a more targeted approach. here in scotland, you must wear a face covering in indoor public places. and also, vaccine passports are required in places like nightclubs and other large gatherings. in wales, the rules on self isolation remain. there is a review due next month but, for now, if you test positive for covid here, you have to self isolate for at least five days. that may cause confusion for people who have to cross the border with england for work. masks remain mandatory in shops and on public transport