The shift to the coronavirus Plan B is an attempt to “buy time” to avoid the threat of a million Omicron infections by the end of the year, Sajid Javid said as he fought back against Tory anger over the measures.
The Health Secretary defended the sudden shift in the Government’s approach to tackling the virus in England, with an extension of mask-wearing from Friday, a return to working from home on Monday and mandatory Covid passports for large venues from Wednesday.
Mr Javid acknowledged the decisions will have a “real impact on our liberties” but insisted that taking action now is the only way to avoid having to impose tougher measures later.
He faced a barrage of Tory criticism when he announced the measures in the Commons at the same time as Boris Johnson addressed the nation on Wednesday.
Tory MP Anthony Mangnall vows to vote against the Government's vaccine passports:
"If you can get Covid having been vaccinated there's absolutely no point having a vaccine passport. It's a massive step back without evidence to prove its worth."
