Potential ‘Plan C’ could include masks and NHS app check-in at pubs

Plan A

Plan A measures included the rollout of booster vaccines, the continuation of NHS Test and Trace, and encouraging regular Covid-19 tests.

However, in light of recent developments concerning Omicron, ministers have agreed that the time has come to implement Plan B.

The new measures include the following:

Plan B

Vaccine Passports

Vaccine passports will be mandatory in a ‘limited number of settings, with specific characteristics’, including nightclubs and crowded indoor venues with more than 500 attendees.

Vaccine certificates will also be compulsory for unseated outdoor crowded settings with more than 4,000 people and any venue with 10,000 or more attendees, such as large football stadiums.

This means you’ll either need to provide proof of your vaccine status or provide a negative test in order to enter these venues.

Working From Home

From Monday, the government is advising people to ‘work from home if you can’, bringing England in line with Scotland.

Boris Johnson said: ‘You ‘should work from home if you can. Go to work if you must, but work from home if you can.’

Wearing Face Masks

Mandatory mask-wearing in shops and on public transport was dropped in England on July 19 – dubbed at the time as ‘Freedom Day’.

Face masks had already been made mandatory again in shops and on public transport, but shortly the requirement will be extended to ‘most indoor settings’ in England, including cinemas and theatres.

Plan C

According to reports, ‘Plan C’ restrictions would include:

NHS Covid app check-in

Before ‘freedom day’, restrictions required people to check-in to hospitality venues wither by using the NHS Covid app or by providing the venue with their contact details.

This was so NHS contact tracers could contact people who may have come into contact with a positive case if there was an outbreak.

This is said to be the first measure the government will reintroduce if a Plan C is implemented

Face masks in all indoor settings

Pubs are currently exempt from the new face mask rules.

But under Plan C, face masks will be mandatory in all indoor settings, including hospitality.

This is likely to mean when going to the bar, or moving around the pub, and not when eating and drinking.

Vaccine passports for more venues

Rules on vaccine passports will be extended, with people required to show they are double-jabbed or have tested negative in smaller venues.

This could mean pubs, bars and restaurants, though the plan has not been confirmed.