Boris Johnson confirms return of working from home as England moves to Plan B

Slowing the spread of the virus will "buy us time" to expand the booster programme, prime minister Boris Johnson has said. Guidance to work from home will be reintroduced, he confirmed, and urged employers to use the rest of the week to discuss arrangements with their staff. "From Monday, you must work from home if you can," he said. "I know this will be hard for many people, but by reducing your contacts in the workplace you will help slow transmission." From this Friday, the legal requirement to wear a face covering will be extended to theatres and cinemas, Mr Johnson confirmed. "There will of course be exceptions where it's not practical, such as when eating, drinking, exercising and singing." The NHS Covid pass will also become mandatory for unseated indoor venues of more than 500 people and unseated outdoor venues of more than 1,000 people. Double vaccination or a negative lateral flow test will meet this requirement, Mr Johnson adds, and this rule will come into force in one week's time. Read more here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/covid-news-coronavirus-omicron-stealth-variant-cases-vaccine/ Subscribe to The Telegraph on YouTube ► https://bit.ly/3idrdLH Get the latest headlines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.