Boris Johnson Rolls Back Plan B
Boris Johnson has announced in Parliament that Plan B rules in England are to be dropped, starting from today. Rules abandoned on face masks, working from home and vaccine passports. The guidance about working from has been dropped immediately, leaving workers free to return to the office.
Mr Johnson said it was time to "trust the judgement" of the public on the use of masks in enclosed and crowded places, from the data provided; so from Thursday next week people will no longer be compelled to wear face masks anywhere, including shops and on public transport. The Prime Minister confirmed that from Thursday, they will not be needed in schools: "From tomorrow we will no longer require face masks in classrooms and the Department for Education will shortly remove national guidance on their use in communal areas," Mr Johnson told the Commons.
The requirement of Covid passports or a recent negative Covid test to enter large venues will be axed from January 26th, when the rules are set to expire in law. Mr Johnson said the self-isolation rules would also lapse in the coming weeks. The legal requirement would end on March 24th - and could be dropped even sooner. Under current guidance, those who test positive for coronavirus have to quarantine for at least five full days, so long as they test negative on a lateral flow test on days five and six.
The relaxation of the rules in place comes after reports of Covid infection levels falling in most parts of the UK for the first time since early December, with figures down 2% week-on-week, which the Prime Minister is attributing to the successes of the booster campaign. He told MPs in the House of Commons more than 90% of over-60s across the UK had now had booster vaccines to protect them, adding that scientists believed the Omicron wave had now peaked.
While the under-fire PM's statements will please a number of his backbenchers, it has also caused concern, particularly from unions for teachers and nurses. Comments have been made suggesting his announcements are motivated more by politics than proof, as Mr Johnson desperately fights for his job.
