Almost all Covid restrictions in England 'to be scrapped within days'

17 January 2022, 10:51

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

Covid restrictions in England could be ditched by the end of the month, according to reports.

It has been reported that most of the Covid restrictions in England could be scrapped by the end of the month.

The current ‘Plan B’ measures, which were brought in back in December, include mandatory mask wearing in schools, as well as on public transport and at indoor events.

Covid passports are also necessary in large venues, including nightclubs and indoor venues of more than 500 people, while the 'work from home' rule is also in place.

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But these Covid rules are due to be reviewed on January 26, with a senior government source telling the Sunday Express that all of the measures currently in place will be ditched.

The only one set to remain is the requirement to isolate for five days if you test positive for coronavirus, and the need to take lateral flow tests for international travel.

The insider added that Health Secretary Sajid Javid is 'sure' that the restrictions will not be needed after the January deadline.

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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also spoken out about the restrictions being lifted over the next few weeks.

“I think the sooner we can lift the final restrictions, the better. I think that’s what the whole country want,” he told BBC.

“I think it’s important that we’re led by the science on this. We had access to the Government scientific and medical advisers, and that’s helped us form our views.

“I hope those restrictions can be lifted as soon as possible, but I want them to be lifted because the medical science says they should be lifted, not simply because the Prime Minister is in a real mess and he’s desperately trying to get out of it.

“So, if it’s the right thing to lift those restrictions, we will vote to lift those restrictions. But we’ll be led by the science as we always have been, not by the politics of propping up a broken Prime Minister.”

This comes after Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said coronavirus cases seem to be ‘plateauing’ in areas first hit by Omicron.

"We see that infections are plateauing in the community, which is good, in London and the South East and the East of England," she told BBC.

"There are still risings, but much slower in the northern parts of the country."