LONDON (Reuters) – A review of “Plan B” measures to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in England could take place this week or early next week, a government source said on Monday, in a bid to deflect the attention to the new revelations concerning parties at 10 Downing Street which have created a lively controversy.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under fire for attending a gathering in the garden of his office and Downing Street residence in May 2020, when strict rules to stem the COVID-19 outbreak banned almost all socialising.
He apologized last week without succeeding in extinguishing calls for his resignation, including in his own camp.
The removal of “Plan B” measures – which called for working from home when possible, wearing masks in public places and using COVID-19 passes to enter certain public places – should appeal to some members of his party who want a return to a life closer to normal.
The measures are currently in place until at least January 26, having been introduced in December in an attempt to stem the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19.
Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi said earlier on Monday that Omicron-related infections and hospitalizations appeared to have peaked, raising hopes that some of the measures could be rolled back.
“I am confident that when we take stock on January 26, as we said we would, we will be in a much better position to lift some of these restrictions,” he told Sky News.
Asked about questions regarding the future of Boris Johnson, Nadhim Zahawi assured that the Prime Minister “understands the level of pain in the country”.
(Report Elizabeth Piper, French version Khadija Adda-Rezig, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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