BORIS Johnson has announced Covid restrictions will return tomorrow as he battles to save Christmas from the Omicron variant.
The PM outlined his response to the new strain amid fears over whether families will be able to celebrate the festive period.
He announced the new curbs, which legally come into force at 4am tomorrow, will be reviewed after three weeks.
Today the health minister Ed Argar insisted he’s confident the restrictions won’t need to be tightened further before then.
He added that No 10 is confident Brits will be able to “look forward to Christmas with family and friends”.
And he insisted there is still no need to go to the Government’s full Plan B, which includes home working and vaccine passports.
Here are the three major changes from tomorrow:
FACE MASKS
It will be mandatory for people to wear masks in a number of public settings to combat the spread of the variant.
The new edict will cover public transport such as trains, buses, and trams.
Brits will also have to wear face coverings in shops, banks, post offices and hairdressers.
But they won’t be mandatory in hospitality settings like bars and restaurants or entertainment venues such as cinemas and theatres.
Mr Argar said it would be impractical to enforce the rules in places where people are eating and drinking.
Brits who flout the rules will face fines ranging from £200 for a first time breach to £6,400 for repeat offenders.
TRAVEL TESTS
The PM has tightened rules on international travel again just a matter of weeks since they were relaxed.
All people arriving in Britain from abroad will have to quarantine and take a PCR test on their second day in the country.
If the swab comes back negative, they will then be allowed to leave isolation. The move could add hundreds of pounds to a family holiday.
Previously vaccinated travellers could take a much cheaper Lateral Flow Test on Day 2 and didn’t have to quarantine unless positive.
But the rules are still less strict than earlier in the year when all arrivals had to isolate for 10 days and take two PCR kits.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said he hoped the new curbs will only be temporary while scientists assess the danger posed by Omicron.
SELF-ISOLATION
Boris also revealed that self-isolation rules will be brought back for contacts of people who test positive for Omicron.
Those who have been in touch with someone who gets the new variant will have to self-quarantine for 10 days even if they’re vaccinated.
Jabbed people who mix people who test positive for other strains like Delta will still be exempt from isolation.
But there are fears the new rules will herald the return of the dreaded ‘Pingdemic’ which saw supermarket shelves run bare.
There are nine confirmed cases of Omicron across the UK but are thought to be up to 225 others already.
The new strain is believed to be more transmissible with ministers warning that number will rise in the coming days.
