Swadlincote: What does the introduction of Plan B Covid measures mean for you?

Covid restrictions are back in the shape of Plan B.

So how will that affect you?

Sky News reports that, as part of its COVID-19 Autumn and Winter Plan 2021, the Government outlined a set of measures that would be brought in "if the data suggests the NHS is likely to come under unsustainable pressure". They were drawn up before the Omicron variant emerged and only apply to England, as COVID restrictions are devolved to the Scottish and Welsh governments and Northern Ireland Executive. Those changes, which have now been expanded in light of the variant, are:

• Reintroducing guidance to work from home, if you can, from 13 December

• Legally mandating face masks in "most public indoor venues", including theatres and cinemas from 10

• December, with exceptions "where it's not practical, including while eating, drinking, exercising or singing"

• NHS COVID passes for nightclubs, unseated indoor venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people, and any venue with more than 10,000 people

• Daily testing for people identified as a contact of a coronavirus case - with isolation required only for people who test positive

• Face masks were already a legal requirement in shops, banks, post offices, hairdressers and on public transport in England as of 30 November.

Previously the Government claimed that with "high levels of protection" provided by the vaccine rollout, the changes introduced for Plan B could be "relatively small". But the announcement made on Tuesday is wider-ranging than the measures first proposed in September.

• Why is it being brought in now?

Boris Johnson has warned that the Omicron COVID variant is "growing much faster" than Delta and its doubling rate could be between two and three days. At the same time, the UK Health Security Agency said in a statement: "If the growth rate and doubling time continue at the rate we have seen in the last two weeks, we expect to see at least 50 per cent of COVID-19 cases to be caused by the Omicron variant in the next two to four weeks."