Plan B restrictions expected to be scrapped in England this month
"There frankly doesn’t seem to be any other expectation at the moment"
Boris Johnson is expected to lift Plan B restrictions in England later this month, according to a government source.
According to The Telegraph, Covid passports and work from home guidance are expected to be lifted from January 26, but some rules of face masks may remain in place.
“There frankly doesn’t seem to be any other expectation at the moment,” a government source said.
It has also been speculated that mask wearing rules for secondary schools could be dropped before January 26.
The news comes as Covid infection figures in the UK fell below six figures for the first time in six weeks on Friday (January 14).
Boris Johnson first announced a move to Plan B restrictions in early December. Earlier this month he confirmed that the rules would continue for three more weeks.
“In response to the latest data the cabinet agreed this morning that we should stick with Plan B for another three weeks with a further review before the regulations expire on 26 January,” he said.
“I know some might therefore ask whether this means we can now do away with measures altogether, but I’m sorry to report that hospital admissions are rising rapidly, doubling around every nine days, with already more than 15,000 Covid patients in hospital in England alone.”
Recent spikes in the Omicron variant has cast uncertainty over a number of scheduled live music tours in the UK and Europe.
Wolf Alice, Rina Sawayama and Supergrass are among acts that have cancelled or postponed upcoming tours due to Covid concerns, while Sam Fender and The Charlatans last month cancelled dates due to positive cases within crew.
London’s Vault festival, which features stand-up, theatre and cabaret and was scheduled to take place between January 25 and March 20, also chose to cancel due to Omicron concerns.