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Some Covid restrictions to stay in place in Manchester, council says
All Plan B Covid restrictions have been lifted today
As the majority of Plan B Covid restrictions are lifted, Manchester’s public health director has said some will be staying in place across the city.
In what has been described as a ‘pragmatic approach’, Manchester City Council is asking people to continue wearing masks in crowded spaces and on public transport.
Students at schools and universities are also been asked to continue wearing masks in corridors until the February half term.
David Regan, Manchester’s public health director, said keeping some measures in place should ‘limit the onward transmission’ of Covid.
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He said there had been a ‘good dialogue’ with the city’s universities and that schools had been ‘really receptive’ to the advice.
Regan explained: “If our primary school children are affected and it goes back into the household, that affects our health and social care workforce.
Deputy council leader Joanna Midgley supported Regan’s stance on the matter, saying the pandemic ‘was not over’ and said there were vulnerable people who ‘needed to be looked after’.
She said: “As the restrictions end, as a city we want to try and encourage people to continue wearing masks in crowded spaces on public transport and to get that message across about looking out for each other, caring about each other.”
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From today, Thursday January 27th, all Plan B Covid restrictions have been lifted. This means that mandatory Covid passes will no longer be needed and people will not be asked to work from home where possible.
Face masks are also no longer mandatory, though various shops and public spaces have encouraged people to continue wearing them.