our health correspondent nick triggle is with me. talk to us about what the prime minister said in terms of ending these restrictions depending on the current encouraging data continuing. how likely is that? the trends are positive, hospital cases are coming down and despite the huge wave of infections driven by the omicron variant the overall numbers of deaths of these winter are not above what we would normally see during any winter but it has come as a surprise to many that this move is being brought forward by a month. they had said it would happen on the 24th of march and it is unclear what it will do to the spread of infections. infection levels are still pretty high but it s worth bearing in mind that the testing system was only picking up around half of cases over the past month or so and at the peak around 200,000 infections a day were being missed
to give an assurance now that the scottish government is determined to retain a robust testing system capable of providing scotland with a strong resilience against future covid threats and firmly aligned with public health advice and the principles underpinning the national health service. now to the key points in detail, starting with our revised strategic approach. in earlier phases of the pandemic it was important to try to eliminate covid and suppress it to the lowest possible level, because then we did not have vaccines and treatments to protect against the serious illness and death that the virus can cause. that is why our objective initially was to suppress the virus to the lowest possible level, but we modified that last year. the update todayit modified that last year. the update today it is modified further and now expressed as follows, to manage covid effectively primarily through adaptations and health measures, that strengthen our resilience and recovery as we rebuild for
the testing system is a uk initiative so holyrood have asked the confirmation from westminster as to the decision from england and how it will impact on scotland and the other nations. borisjohnson suggested that if scotland wanted to maintain the current level of testing, they could fund that from the existing budget. he also said he continued to work closely with the other nations. now, nicola sturgeon has said she doesn t agree with ending self isolation for those who test positive for coronavirus. in scotland, people are strongly advised to self isolated they have coronavirus. however, it s not a legal requirement unless it s connected to international travel. so, the scottish conservative party, they said in terms of self isolating that this just brings england into line with scotland. face coverings are worn in scotland and indoor
for free covid testing after the uk government announced the end of universal testing in england from april. meanwhile, nicola sturgeon says the covid certification scheme and face mask laws will come to an end in scotland, but says she s determined to keep testing people. the scottish government is determined to retain a robust testing system capable of providing scotland with a strong resilience against future covid threats. buckingham palace says the queen has cancelled planned virtual engagements as she continues to suffer mild cold like symptoms due to covid. russia s decision to send troops into two rebel held regions in eastern ukraine,
minister borissov and so on boris johnson into five russian banks and three wealthy individuals. well, scotland s first minister will set out her plans this afternoon. nicola sturgeon s proposals are expected to be more cautious than the ones unveiled for england yesterday. our scotland correspondent, alexandra mackenzie, is in glasgow. nicola sturgeon is going to address the scottish parliament this afternoon. she said she wants to strike that balance between living a normal life but also controlling the virus. the scottish government doesn t want to see an end to free massive testing. they have said this is not the public health advice. the testing system is a uk initiative, so holyrood is seeking clarity from westminster as to how the decision in england is going to affect