Boris Johnson has announced that plan B measures will be in force in England from next week to limit the spread of the omicron Covid variant.
At a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday, the prime minister warned it is clear the new strain is “growing much faster” than the delta variant.
Cases of omicron could be doubling every two or three days, Mr Johnson said, as he announced new rules to slow its spread.
What are the plan B rules?
Mandatory mask-wearing - already ordered on public transport and in shops - will be extended to indoor public venues including cinemas, theatres and places of worship from Friday but will not be required in pubs and restaurants.
Exceptions to wearing masks include when eating, drinking, exercising or singing, Mr Johnson said.
Guidance to work from home where possible will return on Monday.
The NHS Covid pass, which can be obtained by having two vaccines or a negative lateral flow test, will be introduced for entry into nightclubs and other large venues from 15 December, as Mr Johnson set out the “proportionate and responsible” measures.
Covid health certificates will apply to unseated indoor venues with more than 500 attendees and outside where there are more than 4,000 people.
Mr Johnson said passes can be obtained with a negative lateral flow test or by having had two doses of a vaccine but hinted this could change by saying “we will keep this under review as the boosters roll out”.
How long will these plan B rules be in place?
The government has said that its latest measures– which were originally drawn up in September – will be reviewed on 5 January 2022.
What about Christmas parties and nativity plays?
Mr Johnson said Christmas parties and nativities could go ahead but urged people to “exercise due caution” and get their booster jabs.
“The best way to ensure we all 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,” he said.
“We don’t want nativity plays to be cancelled, we think it’s OK currently on what we can see to keep going with Christmas parties but obviously everybody should exercise due caution.”
Have the plan B rules been approved?
MPs are expected to be given a vote on the measures in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
A number of Tory rebels are expected to oppose the government but the measures are almost certain to be approved as shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said Labour supports the new restrictions as being “in the national interest”.
How prevalent is the omicron variant?
According to the latest update from the UK Health Security Agency, there are now 819 cases of omicron confirmed - but the true figure is already estimated to be “probably closer to 10,000”, as health secretary Sajid Javid told the Commons this week.
He also warned that cases could reach up to one million by the end of the month.
Will plan B slow the spread of omicron?
Scientists advising the government have said measures are needed to slow down the spread of the variant.
Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London, whose data was instrumental to the UK going into lockdown in March 2020, said that “case numbers of omicron are doubling at least every three days, maybe even every two days at the moment, so it’s accelerating very fast”.
He said lockdowns are a possibility and cannot be ruled out, but working from home guidance could slow the spread.
Professor Ferguson also said: “There is a rationale, just epidemiologically, to try and slow this down, to buy us more time principally to get boosters into people’s arms, because we do think people who are boosted will have the best level of protection possible, but also to buy us more time to really better characterise the threat.”
