British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that the country will move on to Plan B with regard to restrictions to try and control the number of cases of Covid 19 that there are . Cases have been increasing dramatically recently due to the new South African variant of the disease which is called Omicron. Not much is known about the new variant yet but it is believed that if people are double jabbed and have had their Covid 19 booster, they will be able to protect themselves from experiencing severe symptoms due to the disease.

According to current statistics in the UK:

The number of people who have received at least one dose of a recommended Covid vaccine is fifty one million, one hundred and thirty eight thousand, two hundred and forty five. This equates to seventy six point one percent of the population.

The number of people who have been fully vaccinated is forty six million, five hundred and eighty two thousand, four hundred and twenty five. This equates to sixty nine point three percent of the population.

The number of people who have received their booster is twenty million, nine hundred and nine thousand, eight hundred and nine. This equates to thirty one point one percent of the population.

There have been large campaigns to ensure that as many people as possible can get vaccinated to protect themselves and the people around them. With regard to the move to plan B, people will have more restrictions imposed on them again to try and prevent the amount of social contact they have with other people, some of whom may be carrying the virus. The new restrictions include:

Making face masks mandatory in most public indoor venues, other than hospitality.

People will be required to carry NHS Covid passes in specific settings. This will be done using a negative test or proof of full vaccination using the NHS Covid pass.

Vaccines and testing remain our best lines of defence

People will also be asked to work from home if and when they can.

The move to plan B is coming at a very difficult time for the British public as it is almost Christmas and the majority of people will not have had the chance to spend time with their close friends and family due to the restrictions imposed because of the virus. It was thought at one point that people would be able to enjoy a normal Christmas this year, having missed out on most of the festivities last year due to the country being under several restrictions. However due to the introduction of the new variant, it was thought that the best thing to do would be to move to plan B and see how this affected the number of cases that there were around the country.

Members of the public have been outraged after the emergence of a video from ITV News which illustrated members of the Conservative party laughing and joking about a party or gathering which was arranged last year at Downing Street around Christmas time. This was during the time when the rest of the country was living life under strict Covid regulations, unable to see their friends and family.

The Prime Minister had been denying that there ever was a party at Downing Street but this video provides evidence which says otherwise.

Boris Johnson has apologised for a video showing Downing Street staff joking about a lock down Christmas party in No 10, amid mounting public fury.

The PM said he shared people’s anger and had ordered an inquiry into whether rules had been broken.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was taking people for fools and the PM should just admit what had happened.

MPs lined up to criticise Mr Johnson at Prime Minister’s Questions, with one Labour MP asking how he slept at night.

Replying to Rosena Allin Khan, who also works as a doctor in a London hospital, Mr Johnson said he took “full responsibility for everything the government has done”.

A close eye will be kept on the situation to see how it develops and whether people will be allowed to have a little bit of social contact with their friends and family at Christmas time or not.