Image: EU2017EE Estonian Presidency [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr
DfE issues updated advice after prime minister confirms end of restrictions in England
The government has updated its higher education Covid guidance in light of the imminent relaxation of pandemic restrictions in England.
Prime minister Boris Johnson announced on 21 February that all Covid restrictions will end on 24 February, with free mass testing to stop from 1 April. At a press conference, he said that falling case numbers and hospital cases meant England could begin to “transition back towards normality”.
Following the announcement, the Department for Education published updated guidance for higher education providers.
“From 21 February, staff and students in higher education will not be expected to continue taking part in regular asymptomatic testing and should follow asymptomatic testing advice for the general population,” it now states.
The sections on tracing close contacts and isolation now say that, from 24 February, the DfE document will be replaced by national guidance published by the UK Health Security Agency.
Despite the changes, the government’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, told the 21 February press conference that “people should still, if they have Covid, try to prevent other people getting it, and that means self-isolating”.
Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, added that “this pandemic is not over” and said there was “no guarantee the next variant is as reduced in severity as Omicron”.
The Scottish government also updated its Covid guidance to universities on 21 February.
“With the current Omicron…wave appearing to be past its peak in Scotland, and looking ahead to coming out of the winter period where the impacts across harms one and two are likely to have been at their most acute, attention is turning towards considering approaches to adapting for the longer term,” it states.