The only Covid rule you have to follow now Plan B restrictions have been scrapped

The last week has seen restrictions eased across the UK.

Prime minister Boris Johnson said that with the highly-transmissible Omicron variant now ‘in retreat’, the measures were no longer needed in England.

This meant that from Thursday (January 27) Plan B measures such as mandatory face masks and Covid Passes will no longer be legally in force.

Guidance asking people to work from home was also scrapped along with face coverings in classrooms.

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Care home restrictions have also eased with no limitations on visitors.

Instead Plan A has been reinstated and there’s only one rule that Brits will need to follow going forward.

Self isolation rules for people who test positive for Covid are still in place.

Health secretary Sajid Javid said Covid-19 self-isolation in England will be cut to five days from seven if someone tests negative twice on days five and six.

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The government says it is aiming to lift the self-isolation rules eventually – but not quite yet.

For now, it will remain a legal requirement to self-isolate for a period of at least five full days if you test positive for the virus either with a lateral flow test or a PCR test.

In terms of international travel, double-vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to take a coronavirus test when arriving in the UK from February 11, the transport secretary announced earlier this week.

Also from February 11, unvaccinated passengers will no longer be required to do a day eight test, but they will still need to take a pre-departure test and a PCR test within two days of arriving back in the UK.

Grant Shapps said the policy of post-arrival lateral flow tests for vaccinated travellers had “outlived its usefulness”, telling MPs in the House of Commons that the change would help the aviation industry to “take back to the skies”.

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