Small business minister Paul Scully tried to defend the government’s impending decision to lift the remaining Covid measures early on Monday.
Prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to make an announcement about removing restrictions, including the legal obligation to isolate for anyone who tests positive for Covid this afternoon. At the moment, failing to isolate when you have Covid could result in a fine of up to £10,000.
However, many within the medical and scientific community have questioned the decision, with Professor Tim Spector claiming it was “really weird timing”.
Questioning Scully over the controversy, Sky News’ Kay Burley said: “Interestingly, a lot of the unions, frontline doctors are all saying it’s reckless, utter lunacy and a superspreader free-for-all.
“Why are they all wrong do you think?”
Scully replied: “I just think it’s balance that I was talking about.
“Clearly the unions and the other people you describe have their balance in a different place.
“What we’ve always said is we don’t want to have a moment longer than we need to to have government dictating how people run their lives.”
He added: “It’s important that we don’t work and live under government diktat for a moment longer than necessary to allow the economy to recover, to allow people to get back to a sense of normality, while keeping people safe, clearly.”
The current Covid measures are currently set to expire next month on March 24, but it seems the government wants to bring that date forward.
The cabinet is expected to sign off on dropping the Covid rules shortly, even though Buckingham Palace has just confirmed the 95-year-old Queen has just tested positive – making it clear the virus is still a health risk.
Scully also suggested that dropping the rules would put the responsibility on the individual rather than the government.
He claimed that, “like any transmissible illness you’d stay at home”, if you fell ill with Covid, even though there would be no legal obligation. It would be up to employers and their employees to make a decision.
Aside from the self-isolation rules, the domestic measures still in place include the option for venues to ask people to show an NHS Covid pass, face coverings in some settings and on London’s public transport.
No.10 is also considering removing free lateral flow test kits – according to Scully, the government money which was used to buy these could be redirected into the NHS to tackle the backlog.
It means the government is now relying on the vaccination programme as England’s sole defence against Covid.
The dramatic move away from Covid measures has also been criticised for being a political tactic as Johnson attempts to win back public opinion following a turbulent few months where calls for his resignation have grown louder.
However, it is worth pointing out that some sectors – including education and healthcare – have struggled in recent months with staff shortages due to high Covid rates.
Scully also emphasised that the government will be keeping an eye on future variants through passenger locator forms for people arriving in the UK, although LBC’s Nick Ferrari pointed out this seems rather inconsistent with the decision to lift all domestic restrictions.