Face mask rules and Covid passes to end in England-PM Johnson

UK prime minister Boris Johnson has announced that England's Plan B measures are to end from next Thursday, with mandatory face coverings in public places and Covid passports both dropped, Johnson  also said the government would immediately drop its advice for people to work from home. "Our scientists believe that is likely that Omicron wave has now peaked nationally," he said. Johnson further said that the UK was the first nation in the world to administer a vaccine, and one of the fastest in Europe to roll it out. "This was because we made the big call to pursue our own vaccine procurement, outside of the European Medicines Agency (EMA)," said Johnson. Plan B measures refer to legally enforced face masks, mandatory Covid passes, and advice to work from home.

But, he said, this should not be seen as the "finish line" because the virus and future variants cannot be eradicated - instead "we must learn to live with Covid in the same way we live with flu".He urged people to continue taking steps to keep the virus at bay, including hand washing, ventilating rooms and self-isolating if positive - and pressed those who were unvaccinated to come forward to get their jabs. Johnson also said that his "government got the big things right". He said, "Confronted by the nation's biggest challenge since the Second World War and the worst pandemic since 1918, any government would get some things wrong."

On 18 January 94,432 new cases and 438 deaths in 28 days of a positive test were reported in the UK, tweeted UK Health Security Agency. A total of 52,133,611 people have now received the first dose of a vaccine, while 47,989,635 people have now received the second dose of a vaccine. Meanwhile, 36,546,583 people have received a booster dose. The UK was the first country to raise alarm over Covid-19 mutations, to limit international travel over the Omicron variant, and in December introduced work-at-home advice, more mask-wearing and vaccine passes to slow its spread.