England has moved to ‘Plan B’ in its winter coronavirus management, with new measures coming into force from December 15.
In response to increasing concerns around the transmissibility of the new Omicron variant, the new restrictions mean proof of full vaccination or a negative lateral flow test result will be required to gain entry to all nightclubs, indoor venues with more than 500 people, outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people and any venue with more than 10,000 people. People are also being encouraged to work from home where possible, while a mask mandate has been introduced in cinemas and theatres.
The decision to move towards introducing use of vaccine passports follows the UK government’s initial scrapping of the idea in England in September. It was reported that same month that they still may be introduced sometime in the winter as part of a contingency plan should they be needed. Wales and Scotland had unilaterally decided to enforce their own proof-of-vaccine rules starting in October.
