Guidance to work from home, and the requirement to wear a face covering in classrooms has ended in England today.
For the first time since Plan B measures were were introduced in England back in mid December 2021 in a bid to curb the spread of the Omicron variant, staff across the country who were able to work from home have now been told they can return to office settings “from now on”, and schoolchildren and teachers will no longer need to wear face coverings in classrooms.
The immediate lifting of these measures was announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to MPs in the House of Commons yesterday, and confirmed by Health Secretary Sajid Javid in a later Downing Street news conference.
While an end to the guidance to work from home was said to be expected immediately following reports, the Department for Education’s decision to, as the PM stated, “remove national guidance on their use in communal areas,” did however come as a surprise to many.
The Prime Minister also crucially announced in his statement to MPs yesterday that all Plan B restrictions in England would be lifted on 27 January, and that the legal requirement for people with COVID-19 to self-isolate would be allowed to lapse when those regulations expired on 24 March, but that date could be brought forward.
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Plan B measures will be removed following the success of the booster programme.
From now: ▶️ people are no longer advised to work from home
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) January 19, 2022
This means that from next Thursday (27 January), the wearing of face masks on public transport, in supermarket and retail settings, in communal areas of schools, and “most public indoor venues” will not be required.
You’ll also no longer need to show your NHS COVID Pass at venues and events by law.
While the government says it is still recommending they are worn in “crowded and indoor spaces where you may come into contact with people you do not normally meet”, Mr Johnson said it’s time to “trust the judgment” of the British public when it comes to face masks.
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He told MPs yesterday: “In the country at large, we will continue to suggest the use of face coverings in enclosed or crowded spaces, particularly when you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet, but we will trust the judgment of the British people and no longer criminalise anyone who chooses not to wear one.”
The wearing of face masks will no longer be mandatory starting in schools from tomorrow
He also said in his statement that we can expect restrictions on visits to care homes to be eased shortly too, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid said to be setting out plans “in the coming days”.
The Prime Minister said the decision to legally lift all Plan B restrictions on 27 January comes after Omicron cases were seen to be falling across the UK, and on the basis that he believes the wave had likely peaked nationally.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the highest number of new cases reported on a single day during the current wave was 218,724 on 4 January, but the body said COVID infection levels have now fallen in most parts of the UK for the first time since early December, and official figures showed that only 108,069 positive cases of COVID-19 and 359 COVID-related deaths were recorded in the latest 24-hour period as of 9am on Wednesday, which suggests that the peak may have passed.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson urges caution over the Omicron variant as he announces self-isolation rules for those who test positive for #COVID19 will expire on March 24.
Mr Johnson suggested he would start treating COVID more like the flu, saying: “There will soon come a time when we can remove the legal requirement to self-isolate altogether, just as we don’t place legal obligations on people to isolate if they have flu.
“As COVID becomes endemic, we will need to replace legal requirements with advice and guidance, urging people with the virus to be careful and considerate of others.”
He said the government would set out its long-term strategy for “living with COVID”.
While the decision to lift Plan B restrictions may have please a number of the Prime Minister’s Tory backbenchers amid the ongoing ‘partygate’ scandal and growing pressures for him to resign, a number of senior medics, however, have criticised the decision and said it’s “not guided by data”.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul – Chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) Council – said scrapping the measures at such a fast pace “risks creating a false sense of security” while the NHS is still under crippling pressure
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Matthew Taylor – Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation representing health bodies – also cautioned that now “is not the time for complacency about this virus”.
Featured Image – Flickr | Unsplash
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
The Manc -
20th January 2022 
