{"id":1059653,"date":"2021-11-27T13:28:40","date_gmt":"2021-11-27T18:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1059653"},"modified":"2021-11-27T13:28:45","modified_gmt":"2021-11-27T18:28:45","slug":"return-of-mandatory-masks-boris-johnson-announces-tighter-rules-in-response-to-omicron-variant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/return-of-mandatory-masks-boris-johnson-announces-tighter-rules-in-response-to-omicron-variant\/","title":{"rendered":"Return of Mandatory Masks: Boris Johnson Announces &#039;Tighter Rules&#039; in Response to Omicron Variant"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freturn-of-mandatory-masks-boris-johnson-announces-tighter-rules-in-response-to-omicron-variant%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1059653&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-1236842638-640x335-1.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reintroduced mandatory masks for shops and public transport in response to the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant, despite the requirements only being lifted in July.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, a new strain of coronavirus \u2014 B.1.1.529, dubbed \u2018Omicron\u2019 \u2014 was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/11\/26\/uk-bans-flights-six-african-countries-new-covid-strain-detected\/\">identified<\/a> in southern Africa, prompting the United Kingdom on Friday to impose travel restrictions on those coming from several southern African countries and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-59445388\">requiring<\/a> arrivals to quarantine in hotels for ten days.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>On Saturday, two cases on the Omicron variant were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2021\/11\/27\/uk-records-two-cases-of-omicron-variant-as-countries-impose-travel-restrictions\/\">detected<\/a>&nbsp;in the UK, in Essex in the southeast of England and in Nottinghamshire in central England. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the cases were linked to recent travel from southern Africa.&nbsp;Mr Javid had said yesterday that the Omicron strain&nbsp;\u201cmay be more transmissible\u201d than the dominant delta variety, and there remained the possibility \u201cthe vaccines that we currently have may be less effective\u201d against it.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson held an impromptu press conference on Saturday at 5 pm, during which he used rather unclear language to announce a \u201ctightening up\u201d of the rules on mask-wearing in shops and on public transport \u2014 rules that were lifted in July, leaving unclear what there is to \u201ctighten up\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Johnson told the press during his speech: \u201cWe will also be asking all of you to help contain the spread of this variant by tightening up the rules on face coverings in shops and on public transport.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"9.1538461538462\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: There will be a ramping up of mask wearing in shops and on public transport, says the Prime Minister Boris Johnson in order to &#8220;contain the spread&#8221; of the new Omicron variant.<\/p>\n<p>Follow live <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> updates \ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ue9GmBXKot\">https:\/\/t.co\/ue9GmBXKot<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/W66P1DAITs\">pic.twitter.com\/W66P1DAITs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sky News (@SkyNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SkyNews\/status\/1464644658219433987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 27, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Likely communicating a confusion expressed by many hearing such an unclear statement, Sky News\u2019s Nick Martin asked Johnson: \u201cCan you just be a bit clearer about what you said about face coverings? You said it would be necessary to \u2018tighten up\u2019 on them. Are you tonight saying you\u2019re going to make face coverings mandatory in whatever indoor spaces?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The prime minister was forced to confirm that yes, this meant the return of mandatory masks, saying: \u201cOn face coverings, what we\u2019re looking at is retail and transport just going back to where you have to wear them in retail settings or on public transport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the health secretary, Saj, will be setting out more in the course of the next day or so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The measures, Prime Minister Johnson said, are \u201ctemporary and precautionary\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"7.3945945945946\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">MORONIC variant: Johnson regime announces mandatory face masks. They can stick their masks where the Sun doesn&#8217;t shine.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FightBackBetter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FightBackBetter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 David Kurten (@davidkurten) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidkurten\/status\/1464651574823821313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 27, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The prime minister announced during his speech other \u201ctargetted and proportionate\u201d measures, \u201cas a precaution while we find out more\u201d about the virus, including a testing regime of arrivals from across the whole world, where travellers must take a PCR test by the end of the second day of their arrival and to self-isolate until they have a negative result. People will not be stopped from undertaking international travel, however.<\/p>\n<p>All contacts of those who test positive with a suspected case of Omicron will be told to self-isolate for ten days, \u201cregardless of your vaccination status\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t yet exactly know how effective our vaccines will be against Omicron, but we have good reasons for believing they will provide at least some measure of protection,\u201d Mr Johnson said, as he urged more people to be vaccinated and boosted, announcing his government vaccine committee will look at the possibility of widening access to boosters to as many people as possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe measures that we are taking today, including on our borders, on facemasks, are temporary and precautionary. We will review them in three weeks. At that point, we should have much greater information about the continuing effectiveness of our vaccines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI very much hope that we will find that we continue to be in a strong position and we can lift these measures again. But right now, this is the responsible course of action to slow down the seeding of the spread of this new variant and to maximise our defences so that we protect the gains we worked for so hard and so that we can continue to save lives,\u201d the prime minister concluded.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"6.7215189873418\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">UK Chief Medical Officer Thinks Britons Would Accept New Corona Restrictions <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SOc0c1KKyb\">https:\/\/t.co\/SOc0c1KKyb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1464615999844466695?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 27, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reintroduced mandatory masks for shops and public transport in response to the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant, despite the requirements only being lifted in &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1059653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}