In response to the rapid increase in cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and the increasing risk to the public and healthcare services, the UK COVID-19 alert level has moved from level 3 to level 4.
This means that coronavirus is in general circulation, that transmission is high or rising exponentially and additional measures are required, as well as social distancing. These include:
- wearing face coverings in most public venues, including theatres and cinemas, unless you’re exempt. A full list of where you are required to wear face coverings is on the government website.
- people are now encouraged to work from home if they can
- from Wednesday (15 December) NHS COVID passes will be mandatory for entry into nightclubs and venues where larger crowds gather. The NHS COVID Pass can be obtained by having two vaccines or a negative lateral flow test. The pass can be downloaded from the NHS app and saved onto mobile phones or saved as a PDF and printed off. They last for 30 days.
Alongside these, people should continue to take sensible precautions including ventilating rooms, testing regularly and isolating if they have COVID-19 symptoms