Posted on 01/19/2022 6:53:49 AM PST by Kevmo
All plan B Covid restrictions, including mask wearing, to end in England
Original link at site.
It's interesting that Google News is ignoring this development.
PM says plan B measures will stop on 26 January and compulsory self-isolation for people with Covid on 24 March
Work from home and and mandatory mask rules to be dropped as England moves back to plan A – video Peter Walker and Sally Weale Wed 19 Jan 2022 08.35 EST
Boris Johnson has announced the end of all Covid measures introduced to combat the Omicron variant – including compulsory mask-wearing on public transport and in shops, guidance to work from home and vaccine certificates – from next week.
The prime minister told the Commons that the legal requirement on people with coronavirus to self-isolate would be allowed to lapse when the regulations expired on 24 March, and that date could be brought forward.
To cheers from some on the Tory benches, Johnson also announced an immediate end to the need for pupils to wear masks at secondary schools.
While Johnson’s statement will please a number of his backbenchers, it prompted concern from teaching and nursing unions, while one director of public health said the move felt motivated more by politics than evidence.
Responding for Labour, Keir Starmer said he would back the change as long as it was supported by evidence, saying Johnson must “reassure the public he is acting to protect their health, not just his job”.
Updating MPs, Johnson said he had taken a “different path” to much of Europe, but Covid data was “showing that time and again this government got the toughest decisions right” and that the plan B rules imposed in December could be lifted from next Thursday, the day after a pre-existing review point.
The swift change has been seen as an attempt by Johnson to placate Conservative MPs angry with him over reports about lockdown-breaching parties in No 10.
Although it had been expected that Johnson would announce the end of work-from-home guidance and the need to show a certificate proving vaccination or a recent negative Covid test to enter some venues, the immediate lifting of mandatory mask rules will come as a surprise to some.
“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,” Johnson told the Commons.
“In the country at large we will continue to suggest the use of face coverings in enclosed or crowded spaces, particularly when you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet, but we will trust the judgment of the British people and no longer criminalise anyone who chooses not to wear one.”
Replying to the statement, Starmer said Labour “does not want to see restrictions in place any longer than necessary”. The Labour leader said he would back the relaxation “as long as the science says it is safe”.
Teaching unions expressed concern about the sudden change, warning that many headteachers in England were still seeing widespread disruption to education owing to Covid.
Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said the latest ONS infection survey had shown that one in 10 primary age pupils had Covid. She added: “While the trend amongst secondary aged children is down, it is however uncertain, due to the short time schools have been back since the Christmas holidays, that this trend will continue. Such uncertainty could lead to a pronounced risk of increased disruption with children and staff having to isolate.”
David Davis tells Boris Johnson ‘in the name of God, go’ after Tory MP for Bury South defects to Labour – live Read more Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said ministers would “regret sending the wrong signal to the public for political expediency”. She said: “The prime minister’s decision to loosen the restrictions may have relieved the pressure from his backbenchers but will do nothing to relieve the pressure on the NHS.”
A director of public health at a city in the north of England said they were also concerned at the move. “This feels like more of a political decision than a decision based on the evidence and the science, and it could be quite London-centric,” they said. “We’re seeing a reduction in cases, but they’re still incredibly high. Taking out all these measures does feel risky. And if our focus is keeping kids in schools as much as possible, this may result in more disruption to education. I worry the decision has not been made for the right reasons.”
The changes apply only to England, as Covid restrictions, as part of health policy, are a devolved matter.
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Google news extract... link at original URL
The Telegraph Covid latest news: No more masks and back to the office as ... The news comes as Covid infection levels are falling in most parts of ... when the UK was under strict lockdown, the survey suggested life... . LIVE40 mins ago
CNBC England looks to ease Covid rules while Europe is engulfed by omicron U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce that Covid ... before making a statement to lawmakers, according to Sky News. . 5 hours ago
Reuters Betting Omicron has peaked, Johnson drops COVID rules in ... LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ... navigation of Omicron without resorting to a stringent lockdown,... . 23 mins ago
CNBC UK's Boris Johnson in leadership crisis, accused of lying about 'industrial scale partying' during Covid lockdowns U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's position is looking ... were held by government staff, with some attended by Johnson, during lockdown. . 2 days ago
NPR Boris Johnson again says BYOB party he attended during ... LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday denied misleading Parliament about lockdown-breaching parties, as senior government... . 22 hours ago
Reuters British PM Johnson denies lying about lockdown party Cummings told Sky News he will be questioned by her investigation. Senior ministers have said people needed to wait for the conclusion of her... . 20 hours ago
Reuters Amid Omicron surge, UK PM Johnson resists another lockdown Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations,... . 2 weeks ago
The New York Times U.K. Weighing Lockdown Amid an Omicron Wave and Political Turmoil U.K. Weighing Lockdown Amid an Omicron Wave and Political Turmoil ... in leadership within his own ranks,” he said on Sunday on Sky News. . 1 month ago
BBC Covid: PM 'not warned' party breached lockdown and Scotland to lift most restrictions In less good news for former government aides, ... BBC website to submit your question or send them via email to YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk. . 21 hours ago
True
The masks, mandates, curfews, quarantine camps are/were dry runs for Schwab’s Global Reset.
Do what we tel you and shut up. Don’t worry about what we do.
Protect the climate while I’m the only passenger in a Gulfstream on my way to lounge on a yacht in the Mediterranean for two weeks. Rules are for the little people, the serfs.
If folks don’t realize that they’re trying to creep us toward a real life version of Panem and The Hunger Games, without the fight to the death, they need to start paying attention.
There’s talk they may halt the vaccine program also.
It’s got nothing to do with Crazy Hair Johnson but everything to do with the queen’s Jubilee. Can’t have historical pictures showing masks, smaller crowds and grumpy serfs.
“This is nothing but politics and him trying to save his career.”
Doesn’t matter WHY, he is doing it. A BIG (YUGE) deal.
Yep. They don’t want to wear the cumbersome things. They just want to make other people do it.
I agree with you 100% – this is all politics. The fact that those in power don’t take covid seriously is ample proof that it is not truly a deadly disease. Every time the politicians get caught acting hypocritically the more the public refuses to comply.
That will be deliberately and intentionally kept from the American public as long as possible.
We can agree to disagree. No worries.
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