North Yorkshire brewery hoping life will go back to normal as covid restrictions scrapped
The chief executive of a North Yorkshire brewery is hoping life will go back to normal now that all covid restrictions have been scrapped.
The Prime Minister made the announcement last week to scrap self isolation as part of his plan for “living with Covid” saying we will be "moving from government restrictions to personal responsibility".
Those who receive a positive Covid-19 test will still be advised to stay at home for at least five days, but will not be obliged to isolate under law.
Routine contact tracing also ends today, as will self-isolation payments and the legal obligation for individuals to tell their employers about their requirement to isolate.
Charlene Lyons, Chief Executive of the Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, said:
"We are hoping it will minimise staff absences but obviously if someone is ill they should refrain from coming into work but we're hoping that life will revert back to normal, although it is going to be a new normal.
"The way that people drink and where people drink is different but we're prepared for that. It absolutely does ease a burden but it does pose other problems. Most employers will take the legal guidelines but there are still many people who are scared of covid and there is still a lot of vulnerability.
"The pandemic has been incredibly tough. The team over the last few years have worked incredibly hard and many other breweries haven't survived unfortunately."
Mr Johnson also told MPs that changes to statutory sick pay and employment support allowance designed to help people through the coronavirus pandemic will end on March 24.
Free universal testing will be massively scaled back from April 1 and will instead be focused on the most vulnerable, with the UK Health Security Agency set to determine the details, while a degree of asymptomatic testing will continue in the most risky settings such as in social care.
The announcement came on the same day that it was announced that over 75s and vulnerable adults would be offered a fourth Covid-19 jab as a booster in Spring.
Mr Johnson warned the “pandemic is not over”, with the Queen’s positive test a “reminder this virus has not gone away”.
But he told MPs it was time to “move from Government restrictions to personal responsibility”, with “sufficient levels of immunity to complete the transition” from laws to relying on vaccines and treatments.
“It is time that we got our confidence back. We don’t need laws to compel people to be considerate to others. We can rely on that sense of responsibility towards one another,” Mr Johnson said.
“So let us learn to live with this virus and continue protecting ourselves and others without restricting our freedoms.”