Boris Johnson announced an upcoming change to the Covid restrictions on Wednesday (January 19), promising that all of Plan B measures will be relaxed next week.
As infection levels across the UK are falling – despite the return to school – the prime minister said that the Omicron wave had now peaked nationally.
“The data is showing that time and again that this government got the toughest decisions right,” Johnson said.
He admitted that NHS pressure remains, but hospital admissions have stabilised and that the number of Covid patients in ICU is falling too.
It’s important to note that Covid remains a serious disease with 19,450 people still in hospital with it as of Monday.
Yet, these numbers are far from the hospitalisations seen last January due to the vaccines and the success of the booster rollout, which has seen more than 90% of the over-60s across the UK get boosted.
Here’s a list of the changes, some of which will be introduced from Thursday 27 January, as England returns to “plan A”.
Working from home
The government will lift the advice asking everyone who can to work from home with immediate effect.
It means many workers are likely to return to hybrid working and travelling into the office part-time, although it will depend on individual employers.
This advice was re-introduced in December over fears that the highly-transmissible Omicron variant would sweep through the country.
England is currently the only nation in the UK to lift the working from home advice.
Covid passports
The compulsory use of Covid passports for venues will be dropped, although organisations will be allowed to use it voluntarily.
The NHS Covid pass, accessible for anyone who has been double-vaccinated or received a negative lateral flow test, was introduced for nightclub entry and other venues from December 15.
It was a contentious issue when reintroduced in December with many Tory MPs contesting it.
Face masks
Downing Street initially made face masks mandatory on public transport and in shops, before extending it to indoor public venues like cinemas and theatres.
However, on Wednesday, the prime minister said: “Having looked at the data carefully the cabinet concluded that once regulations lapse, the government will no longer mandate the wearing of face masks anywhere.
“From tomorrow [Thursday 20 January], we will no longer require face masks in classrooms and the Department of Education will remove guidance on masks in communal areas.”
He also promised to “trust the judgement of the British people and no longer criminalise anyone who chooses not to wear one”, although the public are still advised to wear a mask when socialising in enclosed or crowded places with strangers.
This is a particularly controversial decision as face coverings are one of the most effective methods of preventing viral transmission.
Self isolation
The new self-isolation rules for people who test positive for Covid will remain in place.
It is still a legal requirement for people to self-isolate for five full days in England. They are allowed to leave self-isolation if they receive two consecutive negative lateral flow tests on the fifth and sixth day.
This measure was brought in to reduce staff shortages across the country.
The prime minister also pointed out that from March 24, the self-isolation order will “expire” and he said he expects not to “renew it”.
He even suggested bringing this date forward, meaning the obligation for positive Covid cases to self-isolate could be dropped altogether in a couple of months.
Travel
The government did not announce any changes to the current travel rules on Wednesday.
Fully vaccinated people arriving in the UK and those under 18 do not need to take a pre-departure test two days beforehand.
But everyone aged five or over must take a lateral flow test or a more expensive PCR test within 48 hours of arrival. The test must be bought from a private test provider.
If you test positive, you are not allowed to travel.
There are currently no countries or territories on England’s red list for travel, although rules for travellers arriving into different countries from the UK may vary.
