British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has toughened the COVID-19 restrictions in England, with people now directed to work from home, wear masks in public places and use vaccine passes in order to check the spread of the Omicron variant.

The PM said that the new variant of concern was spreading rapidly and he had to move to ‘Plan B’ while a vaccine booster program is rolled out. The move has come as a "hammer blow" for city center restaurants, cafes and shops around Christmas. Most of the COVID restrictions had been lifted in England in July; however, the PM had kept a Plan B in reserve. While some of the measures, like wearing masks on public transport and in shops had already been reimposed, on Wednesday Johnson also told people to work from home. Face masks will be mandatory in places like theatres and cinemas and a COVID pass will be required to access nightclubs and venues with a large number of people… (Reuters, December 9, 2021)