Boris Johnson announces move to 'Plan B' for Covid restrictions

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Under Plan B, people will be asked to work from home again, masks will be compulsory in most public places, and Covid passes will be required to get into certain venues. Boris Johnson said the rules were “not a lockdown”, but were the “proportionate and responsible” thing to do as research on the new coronavirus variant continues.

So what about schools?

There was little mention of schools in the Prime Minister’s address to the nation on Wednesday, in which he announced the new rules.

Mr Johnson was asked whether festive parties and nativity plays should be cancelled. He replied: “No, in my view they should not.”

“They should follow the guidance, of course, but we are not saying we want kids to be taken out of school before the end of term – not that there is very long to go now – and we don’t want nativity plays to be cancelled.

“We think that it is OK currently, on what we can see, to keep going with Christmas parties, but obviously everybody should exercise due caution, have ventilation, wash your hands, get a test before you go – [it is] a sensible thing to do to give everybody else at the party the confidence that they are going to be meeting someone who is not contagious.”

While no official announcement has been made in this fresh wave of restrictions, we do know that the Government is very unlikely to close schools.

Officials are working to ensure that, even in the worst case, schools never close again.

However, the National Education Union (NEU) said it was “disappointed” the Prime Minister’s made no mention of schools on Wednesday, and has called for a number of measures to be implemented under its “own Plan B”.

Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the NEU, said: “We are disappointed that in his announcement the Prime Minister has made no mention of schools, given that cases are rising so fast and this is leading to so much disruption of education.

“More than 200,000 pupils were absent for Covid-related reasons on 25 November and since then infection rates among school-age children have risen further.”

Mr Courtney said the “current mitigations are not enough to keep at bay rising case counts”, and announced NEU’s “own Plan B for schools”.

The NEU Plan B states:

• Masks to be worn by pupils and staff in secondary communal areas and by primary staff in communal areas
• Children who have a sibling or other household member with Covid should not attend school until they have had a negative PCR test, and 10-day isolation should be implemented for close contacts of confirmed or suspected Omicron cases.
• Measures such as one-way routes and staggered break times should be urgently reintroduced.
• The NEU also called on the Government to “change its ventilation guidance to state that classrooms must keep CO2 below 800ppm”, and said the Government “should encourage schools and colleges to allow staff to book vaccines and boosters during working hours without loss of pay and launch a campaign to encourage twice-weekly testing for all staff and pupils”.

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What are the official Plan B rules?

Under new rules, face coverings will be mandatory for most indoor public venues including places of worship, theatres and cinemas, as well as in shops and on public transport.

Masks will still not be needed in hospitality settings such as pubs or restaurants, nor in venues where it is “not practical to wear them”.

The work from home guidance has also changed back to telling people they should work from home “if they can”.

Covid passes will be required in public venues including nightclubs, indoor unseated venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people, and any venue with more than 10,000 people.

When do the rules come into force?

• From Friday, December 10: Face masks will be required in more public settings
• From Monday, December 13: People will be asked to work from home where possible
• From Wednesday, December 15: The NHS Covid Pass will be required

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