Covid: PM’s living with Covid plan and Australia reopens borderon February 21, 2022 at 7:45 am

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Monday morning. We’ll have another update for you this evening.

The prime minister is planning to end restrictions as he prepares to scrap the legal duty to self-isolate in England. Boris Johnson says it would “mark a moment of pride as we begin to learn to live with Covid” and it will return people’s freedoms, but there are concerns from some scientists, health leaders and charities. Labour says “we are not out of the woods yet”, and while No 10 acknowledges the pandemic is “not over”, it says the vaccination programme has led to this point.

Australia’s international border has reopened to foreign visitors for the first time in nearly two years, with emotional scenes as families finally reunite in person. Tourism’s also getting a boost following the end of the travel ban – one of the world’s strictest, imposed in March 2020 due to Covid. Read more here.

When the pandemic hit, our immune systems didn’t know how to fight Covid. Since then immunity has increased, largely through vaccination but also infections. The UK government is now looking for us to live with the virus, and is planning to scrap the legal requirement to self-isolate in England. But are we ready for this? Our health correspondent Nick Triggle has looked into it.

If you’ve had Covid, did you lose your sense of smell – and did it come back? If not, smell training has been shown to help. Smelling aromas mindfully appears to regrow the nerves that were destroyed by the virus. Watch to find out more.

Like millions of others, Jasmin Moeller has been buying more plants over the past two years. Plant sales have soared during the pandemic and the trend’s continuing. But are you like Jasmin, who freely admits she’s not very good at taking care of them? To give her green fingers a helping hand she’s using hi-tech sensors, which can show whether her plants need water, sunlight or a different temperature. Read more here.

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Remind yourself of the remaining restrictions that are in place across the UK.

You can find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.

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