Brits to enjoy more freedoms in 12 days as PM prepares to ditch Plan B
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is poised to scrap Plan B restrictions in just 12 days time as fears about the Omicron variant ease.
Johnson reportedly has no intention of renewing Plan B measures, which are due to cease on 26 January, bringing an end to working from home guidance and the controversial vaccine passport policy. Mask wearing in public places could also be done away with if Plan B measures are reversed the Sun first reported.
One Cabinet minister told the Times: “The scientific voices seem to be becoming less doom-laden.
“If we have to keep wearing facemasks for a bit, then I’m fine with that — ending work-from-home guidance is the important one. It will help get the economy firing,” the minister added.
The PM’s top team have reportedly been briefed with data “where everything seems to be going in the right direction.”
According to the first official UK report the risk of hospitalisation is 50 to 70 per cent lower with Omicron than with the Delta variant.
The devolved nations, Scotland and Wales, which introduced tough lockdown restrictions to stop the spread of Omicron have begun to relax measures. Wales’ restrictions on large events and businesses will be removed over the next two weeks as Covid cases decline while Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that lockdown measures will be wound down from the start of next week.
Yesterday the UK recorded 335 new daily deaths from Coronavirus and 2,184 people were admitted to hospital with Covid-19.
Read more: Brits’ experience of previous Covid-19 curbs to quash Omicron GDP hit