Boris Johnson is expected to announce new Covid restrictions later today, it is being reported.
As allegations of rule-breaking Christmas parties in Downing Street run rife in the press today, despite being strenuously denied by the Prime Minister at PMQ’s, a number of papers are reporting that Johnson will introduce new ‘Plan B’ restrictions as early as this week.
So reports the Financial Times, which writes that Boris Johnson is to “introduce new restrictions in England to curb Omicron spread.”
It would mean new restrictions across the country, including a return to working from home for millions of people.
The Plan B proposal was first published by the government last autumn and hasn’t yet been implemented.
According to the Government’s website, we will only move to Plan B ‘if the data suggests further measures are necessary to protect the NHS’.
It’s made up of three points:
- Communicating clearly and urgently to the public that the level of risk has increased, and with it the need to behave more cautiously.
- Introducing mandatory vaccine-only COVID-status certification in certain settings.
- Legally mandating face coverings in certain settings.
The government is also expected to ask people to work from home again if they can, for a limited period.
Mandatory vaccine-only passports would mean that only those who are fully vaccinated would be able to visit nightclubs or indoor settings with more than 500 attendees, under Plan B.
However, senior Tory MP William Wragg said today that Plan B is a “diversionary tactic” to distract from the controversy surrounding Number 10’s rumoured Christmas party last December.
The PM faced a grilling at today’s PMQs but continued to insist that no party took place when the rest of the country was living under restrictions.
Featured Image – Unsplash / gov.uk
