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
I don’t think this is any turnaround.
Johnson and his pals in government have been caught too many times violating the rules they’ve been imposing on the serfs.
There is talk he should resign because of it.
This is nothing but politics and him trying to save his career.
There’s always a precipitation point where ordinary people just scoff at the .... bullshiite.
Like when McCarthyism ended by the lawyer asking simply “have you no decency?” or the Mafioso dude who claimed he was a good guy because he “pays his taxes”.
Now if they will just allow Covid kits that include Ivermectin to those that test positive ... they can end this.
The job of a politician is to see where the crowd is going, run around to the front of it, and act like he's leading the parade.
This needs to happen in their penal colony.
It’s amazing what being caught dancing will do to a guy.
Boris is a idiot, but he’s smarter than our idiots.
I look for them to double-down on everything that doesn’t work.
Getting busted multiple times partying without a mask has benefits for the common people.
So let’s see. No more vax mandates or coercion? Meanwhile in Austria, a law to make it illegal to NOT be vaxxed? Fines and prison? What about the folks “down unduh”? Will they be getting a law as well to get vaxxed or get locked up? Freakin’ crazy town!
tagline worthy phrasing, so I updated the tagline page
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3992415/posts?page=338#338
eventually the house of cards artifice falls down
I soitenlee hope so. The size of this absurdity is YUGE! SHAMdemic 101.
Bingo.
It is the fact that he has to back off COVID tyranny is big news. Six months ago he could’ve done this and still kept the lockdowns - the tide is turning.
If I’m interpreting your comment correctly, I have to disagree that the tide isn’t turning over the virus. IMHO, the tide is turning because of the hypocrisy and getting caught.
Pork Pie Putsch: How Some Tories are Plotting to Overthrow Boris Johnson
Ever since news of a number of allegedly lockdown breaking gatherings emerged in the press, Johnson has since been — increasingly desperately — working to recover his party’s popularity as well as his own, deploying so-called “Operation Red Meat” policies to win back wavering voters.
That has nothing to do with how severe covid is. This is all politics as far as I’m concerned.
This is a good thing. So good it makes me wonder if this is the end of one bad thing and a pause before the beginning of another bad thing.
After all, there was just a meeting of the Davos crowd.
These demons simply can’t be trusted.
It's just about over, probably Feb 1st in America, just when we get Brandon's home test kits. A metaphor for his residency.
Sometimes politicians cannot get out of the policy rut they unwittingly put themselves into by their own shortsightedness and fear of the future. In this case, not only the PM but many politicians on both sides of the aisle have gotten caught maskless recently.
This change cannot happen at a better time for the EU, which is about to drop the final act of their digital identity scheme. The European street protests will be all the more attended after seeing UK open up again without Covid certifications be required.
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