New South African variant.

[JimSh]

Tae see wirsel's as ithers see us

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/11/world-experts-react-to-england-ending-covid-curbs

But then maybe

 they're a' oot o'step bar oor Boris

[Kremmen]

I'm going to continue to avoid public transport and wear a FFP2 mask where I deem appropriate for the foreseeable future.

[Lord Voltermore]

"To a Louse" by Robert Burns ,2022 version

O wad some Power the giftie gie Boris
To see hiself as ithers see him !
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!

And  "to a mouse " , 2022 version

But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be a strain :
The worst  laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
          Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
          For promis’d joy!

[JimSh]

To a Haggis ?
Foul fa' yer smirkin', lyin' face,
Chief pudden o' the Tory race,
Abune them a' ye tak yer place,
Mogg, Gove or Truss,
For a' oor sakes, resign at pace,
Go paint a bus.

Edit.
I was looking for something else to parody and found the Twa Dogs : a Tale.
Rich man's dog and working man's dog in conversation.
No need to parody. Some things haven't changed in 250 years.
See verses 20 and 21 (Beginning Caesar
                                                 Haith lad, ye little ken about it.)

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/the-twa-dogs/

[JimSh]

Good analogy by Devi Sridhar

“Isolation is there to avoid someone who’s infectious infecting someone else. I actually see it as a public health protection in the same way as we have smoking laws against indoor smoking and laws against driving when you’re under the influence.”

So said Edinburgh University professor Devi Sridhar, who has become one of TV’s go-to public health experts during the pandemic. Sridhar was talking about the government’s plans to remove the requirement in England to isolate when you are infected with Covid.

The problem with this, as Sridhar pointed out, is that it gives a licence to infected people to ride a bus or train, to go shopping, to see a film or a show, to go to the pub, spreading a deadly disease.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/covid-rules-no-need-to-isolate-clinically-vulnerable-b2013710.html

[Jocko]

I will never visit a pub, go to a theatre or cinema or eat out again if Scotland chooses to go down that route.

[culzean]

Good analogy by Devi Sridhar

Are there 2 Devi Sridhars ?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/19/science-covid-ineradicable-disease-prevention

'In England the prime minister announced today that restrictions including masking requirements will be removed from next week, and self-isolation requirements will be reviewed in March. I think this is largely reasonable – all governments face the question of how to approach this new landscape.'

[JimSh]

Good analogy by Devi Sridhar

Are there 2 Devi Sridhars ?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/19/science-covid-ineradicable-disease-prevention

'In England the prime minister announced today that restrictions including masking requirements will be removed from next week, and self-isolation requirements will be reviewed in March. I think this is largely reasonable – all governments face the question of how to approach this new landscape.'

Not as far as I know.
Your article is from 19th January and predates Johnson's announcement on dropping self isolation rules. Indeed your quote said that he would review them in March.
Other quote from your article.
"What does all this mean in terms of living with Covid-19? We still need to test. We still need to vaccinate and combat misinformation. We need to encourage people to wear medical-grade masks such as N95s in crowded and indoor settings. Employers need to recognise and support employees who have been identified as in a shielding group. We also need to review isolation and other policies so they remain safe, but are less disruptive to the functioning of society."

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/may-actually-fine-gamble-scotland-050000002.html
Edit added second link
Quotes from 2nd link from Jillian Evans,  head of health intelligence at NHS Grampian,
"You absolutely have to be open to emerging evidence, but hard and fast deadlines ahead of schedule - treating the virus like it's a capital project where you come in under budget and ahead of time - it's not like that.
"What will happen with waning vaccine protection, and waning immunity, which will inevitably occur as we go through the summer months?
"What will happen will high levels of virus circulating in our country and abroad, and the potential for new and more worrisome variants? We are perpetually living with uncertainty."

and from Professor Rowland Kao, chair of veterinary epidemiology and data science at Edinburgh University.
"[Ending self-isolation] is clearly not a 'phased return'. It's a jump into the deep end and 'let's see what happens'."

[culzean]

She said 'we have to learn to live with this virus',  which is exactly what Boris is planning... Good old England leads the way again.

[JimSh]

Learning to live with the virus does not just mean giving up all precautions at once and hoping the virus goes away or mutates into a milder form.

" Living with the virus “is an acknowledgment that eradication of SARS-CoV-2, like what we did with smallpox, is not feasible,” said Maria Sundaram, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute.
Instead, we’ll need to rely on an arsenal of tools — including vaccines, paid sick leave and masks — to coexist with the virus while reducing our own risk and protecting others."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/12/world/scientists-prepare-for-the-next-phase-of-learning-to-live-with-covid.html

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237475-covid-19-news-england-may-scrap-all-restrictions-in-two-weeks/
Edit added New Scientist link

[JimSh]

There appears to be no justification for the government's proposed removal of free testing, reporting and self isolation in the minutes of the latest Sage meeting 10/2/2022.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sage-105-minutes-coronavirus-covid-19-response-10-february-2022/sage-105-minutes-coronavirus-covid-19-response-10-february-2022

Indeed
2  8. There is no reason why future dominant variants should be similarly or less severe than Omicron, which may be an exception in having lower severity. The next dominant variant in the UK (and internationally) could have similar pathogenicity to previous variants, such as Delta. The range of evolutionary possibilities also includes substantial change to immune recognition.

and sections 3 and 4
would suggest it really isn't such a clever idea.

Edit see also 1 5  In fact read the whole lot (5 minute read)

[JimSh]

Children in Scotland and Wales to be offered Covid Vaccinations.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/covid-vaccine-in-scotland-5-to-11-year-old-children-to-be-offered-jabs-nicola-sturgeon-says/ar-AATVCz2?ocid=uxbndlbing

[embee]

Well, that was the practice run. Now we wait for the real thing. 

[culzean]

Well kids with no particular vulnerability to covid are being offered a largely untested therapy,  with short lived immunity ?  Asylum keys have definitely gone missing...

[Kremmen]

I don't dig into the data but what is encouraging is the daily 16:00 coronavirus dashboard UK map has gone from a mass of black to large areas of blue and pink so it looks like it is improving.  Hopefully.