Wearing face masks again mandatory in England over omicron

Face masks have again become mandatory in public transport and shops in England in an effort to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

People arriving from abroad in the UK must now also undergo a PCR test and isolate themselves until they get a negative result.

It comes after 14 cases of the new variant were discovered in the UK.

Boris Johnson is expected to set up plans for the Booster Jab program in England at a news conference later.

On Monday, the government announced a major expansion of the Booster Jab rollout as part of efforts to help stop a potential wave of infections. They are to be offered to anyone over the age of 18 in the UK, with children aged 12 to 15 invited for a second jab.

More local pharmacies could be used as part of the rollout and it is possible that there will be some priorities to ensure that the vulnerable get their top-up shots first – as with the original scheme.

Three more Omicron cases have been found in Scotland and Health Secretary Sajid Javid said cases of the new variant are expected to continue to rise.

Early evidence suggests that omicron – first found in South Africa – carries a higher risk of re-infection. But scientists say it will take about three weeks before it is known how the variant affects the effectiveness of vaccinations.

Mr Johnson said the new mask and test measures “would buy our time vis-à-vis this new variant”.

Richard Walker, managing director of the Iceland grocery chain, told the BBC that his company supported wearing mandatory masks but he would not ask staff to polish those who refused.

Care Minister Gillian Keegan told BBC Breakfast that it was “up to individuals” to do the right thing, called on the public to be “meaningful”, and said she understood Mr Walker’s position.

Even though it is still unclear the impact of the new variant, she would have said that people should continue with their Christmas plans but be “careful”.

Police in England say they will be working “in collaboration with relevant business owners and their staff” to ensure people respect the new face covering rules.

Assistant Chief Constable Owen Weatherill, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said officers engage with people who do not wear face masks and encourage them to do so.

As a last resort, people can get a £ 200 fine, reduced to £ 100 if paid within 14 days.

The changes will be reviewed in three weeks and the health secretary told deputies they will get the chance to vote on them.

Scientists agree that accelerating the booster program is the key to combating Omicron when the worst fears are realized.

However, this work is now in the hands of the NHS.

And the challenge it faces is that the infrastructure that was so successful in delivering the Jabs in the first half of the year was dismantled.

Three-quarters of vaccinations were delivered by GP-led teams. But many of these GPs and staff are now back in their day jobs, concentrating on the flu vaccination rollout in their patients.

Around 50 mass vaccination centers were also closed.

Some of this new start is not immediate so in the short term the simplest solution is to extend the opening hours of the remaining large centers and provide more support to high street pharmacies who are also heavily involved.

Currently, there are about 2.5m of booster jabs each week – at that rate, it can take about three months for each booster to bid.

Halving that would give the UK the best possible chance of fighting any Omicron wave.