Boris Johnson held a press conference on December 8 at Downing Street to set out what measures the Government would take as it moved to its Covid Plan B in the wake of rapidly increasing cases of the omicron variant.
The Prime Minister announced that work-from-home guidance would return, Covid passports would become mandatory in large venues and mask rules would be extended to more public places including cinemas.
Mr Johnson addressed the nation once again on Sunday, Dec. 12, after the UK Covid alert was raised to Level 4. Although he did not impose any further restrictions, he warned of a "tidal wave" of omicron and said that from "bitter experience" the situation could deteriorate rapidly. His address suggested further restrictions may have to be enforced if the target to administer the third dose to one million people a day till the new year was not met.
He said: "Get boosted now for yourself, for your friends and your family. Get boosted now to protect jobs and livelihoods across this country. Get boosted now to protect our NHS, our freedoms and our way of life."
Three days later, the PM made another national address on Dec. 15 after the UK recorded its highest ever daily Covid cases with official figures reporting 78,610.
"The wave on omicron continues to roll in across the whole of the United Kingdom," he said at the press conference, warning that in some areas the doubling rate was now under two days.
Mr Johnson said: "I'm afraid we're also seeing the inevitable increase in hospitalisations up by 10 per cent nationally, week on week, and up by almost a third in London."
But he assured the nation that there were also "signs of hopes" and that a "great national fightback has begun".
However, Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, warned during the conference that "we have to be realistic that records will be broken a lot over the next few weeks as the rates continue to go up."
Here is everything we know so far about Plan B.
What measures have been introduced in England?
As of December 10, face coverings became compulsory in most public indoor venues, such as cinemas, theatres and places of worship. However, there are exemptions for hospitality venues.
The Prime Minister also advised “those who can” to work from home from December 13.
And from December 15, the NHS Covid Pass became mandatory for entry into nightclubs and settings where large crowds gather – including unseated indoor events with 500 or more attendees, unseated outdoor events with 4,000 or more attendees and any event with 10,000 or more attendees.
When will the measures be reviewed?
The Prime Minister said that the measures will be reviewed on January 5 and will automatically expire on January 26.
He said his aim was for restrictions to be in place "no later than early January and possibly before, if we start to get some of that really granular information [on the omicron variant], but we need to see the data and work on it pretty hard.”
What the new rules mean for Christmas parties and nativity plays:
Prof Whitty said people needed to "prioritise what matters" in the run-up to Christmas and therefore "deprioritise other things" during the press conference on December 15.
He added you "don't need a medical degree to realise that is a sensible thing to do with an incredibly infectious virus".
Prof Whitty said it is sensible to prioritise the social interactions that matter, especially in the run-up to Christmas.
He said: "I think that what most people are doing is, and I would think this seems very sensible, is prioritising the social interactions that really matter to them and, to protect those ones, de-prioritising ones that matter much less to them.
"I think that's going to become increasingly important as we, for example, go into the Christmas period."
He said he would "strongly encourage" people to take tests before visiting vulnerable people and to meet in areas of good ventilation or outdoors if possible.
Previously, the Prime Minister said on December 8 that people should not cancel their Christmas parties or nativity plays.
But he suggested that they should take a Covid test before attending any festive events.
Boris Johnson tells me people should NOT cancel Christmas parties and nativity plays. But suggests people take a test before Xmas parties.
— Ben Riley-Smith (@benrileysmith) December 8, 2021
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference earlier in December, Boris Johnson said: "On Christmas, the best way to ensure we have a Christmas as close to normal as possible is to get on with Plan B - irritating though it may be, it is not a lockdown, it is Plan B, it is what we set out a while back - and to get your booster and to get your jab."
Asked about whether festive parties and nativity plays should be cancelled, he replied: "No, in my view they should not.”
"They should follow the guidance, of course, but we are not saying we want kids to be taken out of school before the end of term - not that there is very long to go now - and we don't want nativity plays to be cancelled.
"We think that it is OK currently, on what we can see, to keep going with Christmas parties, but obviously everybody should exercise due caution, have ventilation, wash your hands, get a test before you go - (it is) a sensible thing to do to give everybody else at the party the confidence that they are going to be meeting someone who is not contagious."
What the Covid restrictions mean for Christmas services:
As of December 10, face coverings became compulsory in places of worship.
However, the Prime Minister said that people who are “singing” are exempt from face masks, meaning those attending Christmas services are able to remove their face coverings when joining in carols.
What they mean for Christmas shopping and hospitality:
In England, face coverings are already required in shops and shopping centres.
Hospitality settings are exempt from face mask rules meaning people attending Christmas meals in pubs or restaurants are not required to wear a face covering.
What the rules mean for Christmas travel:
The Prime Minister did not announce any extra international travel restrictions at the Downing Street press conference or during his national address.
In fact, earlier this week, it was announced that 11 countries on the UK’s travel red list would be removed at 4am on Wednesday, ending the requirement for arrivals from the likes of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nigeria to spend 10 nights in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £2,285.
Ministers accepted the red list was no longer required to protect the UK from the import of the omicron variant as it is already becoming the dominant strain in the UK.
Travel testing rules had also already been tightened: anyone travelling to the UK must now take a PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival, and self-isolate until they have received a negative result – regardless of the country they are travelling from, or their vaccination status.
Additionally, all people aged 12 years and over must take a PCR or lateral flow test before they travel to England from abroad.
On Monday, Dec. 13, the Prime Minister announced that the NHS Covid Pass is to be rolled out to children aged 12-15, for travel purposes.
This article is being kept updated with the latest news and Government guidance daily.
