Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced England will move to its so-called ‘Plan B’ in a bid to stop the spread of the Omicron Covid variant.
Speaking at a Downing Street news conference on Wednesday evening, the Mr Johnson announced the return of a number of restrictions, including:
- Guidance to work from home for those who are able from Monday;
From Friday (December 10) face masks will become mandatory in most indoor venues including theatres and cinemas, but not when eating or drinking;
- Covid passes will be mandatory for venues where there are large crowds and also entry into nightclubs.
Mr Johnson said employers should use the rest of the week to discuss working arrangements with their employees but from Monday people should "work from home if you can."
READ MORE: {}
"I know this will be hard for many people but by reducing your contacts in the workplace, you will help slow transmission," he said.
Mr Johnson said "the biggest thing everyone could do" was to get vaccinated. "We must be humble in the face of this virus," he added.
"As soon as boosters are capable of holding off Omicron variant and we have boosted enough people… then we will be able to move forward as before. Please everybody play your part.”
The government said it would be guided on the measures going forward using four criteria, including; the efficacy of vaccines; the severity of Omicron; the speed of its spread; and the rate of hospitalisations.
The announcement comes as a further 115 cases of the Covid-19 Omicron variant have been reported across England, the 海角视频 Health Security Agency said.
Most Read
It brings the total number of confirmed Omicron cases in England to 448, the agency said.
There have also been four additional cases of the Omicron variant in Wales, the 海角视频HSA said, and the first three cases reported in Northern Ireland.
Across the 海角视频 in total, there have been 131 additional cases, bringing the total number of confirmed Omicron cases in the 海角视频 to 568, the agency said.