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Boris Johnson Seeks to Turn Page on Virus Despite Warnings

  • U.K. premier says Covid restrictions in England to be lifted
  • Plan welcomed by ruling Tories key to his political survival
Boris Johnson leaves from 10 Downing Street in central London on Feb. 21.

Boris Johnson leaves from 10 Downing Street in central London on Feb. 21.

Photographer: Tolga Akmen/AFP/ Getty Images
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Boris Johnson said the U.K. must learn to live with coronavirus as he ended pandemic rules in England, becoming the first major Western government to do so even as his scientific advisers warned infections will rise.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Johnson laid out a plan to lift all legal curbs, replacing them with an emphasis on “common sense” and personal responsibility in the next phase of the pandemic. People with Covid-19 will no longer have to self-isolate from Thursday, while access to free tests will end on April 1. The changes are subject to a vote in Parliament.