Boris Johnson brings back mandatory masks

After two cases of the new Omicron variant were identified in the UK, the Prime Minister held a Downing Street press conference this afternoon to update the public on the government’s response. As research gets underway to identify whether the new Covid variant is partially vaccine resistant – and how quickly it spreads compared to the Delta strain – Boris Johnson spoke of his desire to slow the spread of the variant here in the UK.

Chief Scientific Officer Patrick Vallance said three things needed to be done in order to do this: First, limit the number of cases arriving in the UK from abroad. Second, limit the spread of cases in the UK through contact tracing and testing. And third, bolster our defences by making sure the booster programme ramps up. In order to achieve these aims, Johnson announced a raft of new measures:

• On borders, all arrivals to the UK must now take a PCR test two days after they return and isolate until they have a confirmed negative result. 
• Rules