[News] Boris Johnson confirms mask-wearing and Covid passes will be scrapped in the UK by next week

UK Prime Minister has confirmed that the country’s Plan B restrictions will be scrapped next week.

Mandatory mask-wearing in shops and on public transport will come to an end when regulations expire next Thursday, Jan. 27.

People will no longer be advised to work from home where possible as Omicron cases fall across the country.

Also, Covid passes will no longer be mandatory.

From tomorrow, Jan. 20, face coverings will not be needed in classrooms and the guidance to wear them in communal areas will shortly be removed too.

The Government will “continue to suggest the use of masks in enclosed or crowded spaces, particularly when you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet”.

But the prime minister said ministers “trust the judgment of the British people and no longer criminalise anyone who chooses not to wear one”.

He told the Commons today, Jan. 19: “The Cabinet concluded that because of the extraordinary booster campaign, together with the way the public has responded to the Plan B measures, we can return to Plan A in England, and allow Plan B regulations to expire.”

He also confirmed his intention to end the legal requirement for people to self-isolate if they test positive for Covid – as soon as March 24.

He told MPs: “As we return to Plan A, the House will know that some measures still remain, including those on self-isolation.

“In particular, it is still a legal requirement for those who have tested positive for Covid to self-isolate.

“On Monday we reduced the isolation period to five full days with two negative tests, and there will soon come a time when we can remove the legal requirement to self-isolate altogether, just as we don’t place legal obligations on people to isolate if they have flu.

“As Covid becomes endemic, we will need to replace legal requirements with advice and guidance, urging people with the virus to be careful and considerate of others.

“The self-isolation regulations expire on March 24, at which point I very much expect not to renew them. Indeed, were the data to allow, I’d like to seek a vote in this House to bring that date forward.”

Before his address, Boris Johnson had faced calls to resign in Parliament amid public outrage over a number of lockdown-breaking Government parties.