Boris Johnson will announce today that Plan B is being lifted as he attempts to highlight the success of Omicron’s strategy.
Downing Street last night said the Prime Minister had summoned a special meeting of the Cabinet this morning to decide whether the measures put in place to halt the variant’s spread can be lifted.
These changes will take effect next week and include the end of work-from-home guidance as well as the elimination of controversial Covid passports.
For now though, Covid’s isolation periods are expected to continue.
A final decision on whether to scrap mandatory face masks was last night said to be ‘in the balance’. According to government scientists, mandatory masks should be kept in place on public transport as well as in shops.
A Whitehall source said that to extend masks past January 26th would need a potentially explosive Commons election, something Mr Johnson is keen to avoid.
According to senior Tory MPs from the Covid Recovery Group, the prime minister could face a rebellion if he tries to increase the measures.
Ministers think Johnson is worthy of credit for his calculated wager in the lead-up to Christmas, to accelerate the booster rolling out rather than imposing lockdown restrictions.
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Boris Johnson will announce that he has lifted Plan B Covid restrictions.
The Prime Minister’s allies claim those who plot against him are blind to the fact that his refusal to heed the warnings from Government scientists is vindicated.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday told MPs that the UK was now seeing cases fall despite being ‘the most open country in Europe’.
He added: ‘I’ve always said that these restrictions should not stay in place a day longer than they are absolutely necessary.
‘Due to… the likelihood that we have already reached the peak of the case numbers and hospitalisations, I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll be able to substantially reduce measures next week.’
Yesterday’s Prime Minister said that everyone should be vigilant, especially those who are not vaccinated.
He said he was ‘completely focused… on getting us through Covid’, adding: ‘We’ve had the fastest booster rollout of any European country, we’ve got the most open economy, that’s because of the hard work of everybody in Government, amazing work of the NHS, all the doctors and nurses up and down the country.’
Over the last week, the number of Covid-positive people has dropped by 39% and the hospitalizations for the disease have fallen by 3%.
Yesterday’s UK case numbers were down to 94,432 from Tuesday’s 120,821 and peak at 218,724 in January 4.
The virus was detected in 1,768 people at hospitals across England on Sunday. This is down from the 2,370 reported on December 29.
England now has 16,218 people in hospitals with the virus. This is down from 17120 patients on January 10. A further 438 deaths occurred in the UK after receiving positive tests within 28-days.
A government spokesman last night said the final decision on Plan B was ‘finely balanced’, adding: ‘Plan B was implemented in December to slow the rapid spread of the extremely transmissible Omicron variant, and get more jabs in arms.
It’s thanks to the phenomenal efforts of the NHS and many dedicated volunteers that we have now delivered over 36 million boosters to people across the UK.
‘The Omicron variant continues to pose a significant threat and the pandemic is not over. Although infections remain high, the most recent data shows that cases are beginning to decline.
Vaccines remain our best line of defence and we urge people to come forward, to give themselves the best possible protection.’
Dr David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s special envoy on Covid-19, said the situation in the UK ‘gives us grounds for hope’.
He told BBC Breakfast: ‘The goal that we’re all aiming for is a situation where this virus is present, but life is organised so that it is not disrupted.
‘We also need to be humble, this virus is continuing to evolve and we’re never quite sure that we know exactly where it’s going to go next. We need real honesty – it’s just no good anybody suggesting that the situation is rosier than it really is.
‘That’s why I’ve been careful. I’m saying I can see where the end is, I can see light at the end of the tunnel, but I really do anticipate right throughout the world a bumpy journey ahead during 2022.’
Yesterday, he said at a briefing that he is particularly worried about low vaccine rates in countries.