Face masks will not be legally required from next Thursday and will not needed in schools from tomorrow, the Prime Minister has announced.
The Plan B measures aimed at tackling the spread of omicron are to be dropped across England, Boris Johnson told the House of Commons this afternoon.
Advice to work from home and the use of Covid passports for large venues will be axed from January 26, when the rules are set to expire in law.
He told MPs in the House of Commons more than 90% of over-60s across the UK had now had booster vaccines to protect them, and scientists believed the Omicron wave had peaked.
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He said the Government had taken a "different path" to much of Europe and the "data are showing that, time and again, this Government got the toughest decisions right".
People will no longer be told to work from home and, from Thursday next week when Plan B measures lapse, mandatory Covid certification will end, Mr Johnson said.
The Government will also no longer mandate the wearing of face masks anywhere from next Thursday and they will be scrapped in classrooms from this Thursday.
The Prime Minister said people should use their common sense, wearing face masks in crowded places with people they didn't meet regularly, but it would no longer be mandated by law.
Speaking about the mask rules in schools Mr Johnson said: "Today's latest ONS data shows infection levels are falling in England and while there are some places where cases are likely to continue rising, including in primary schools, our scientists believe it is likely that the Omicron wave has peaked nationally.
"Having looked at the data carefully, the Cabinet concluded that once regulations lapse the Government will no longer mandate the wearing of face masks anywhere.
"From tomorrow, we will no longer require face masks in classrooms and the Department for Education will shortly remove national guidance on their use in communal areas.
"In the country at large we will continue to suggest the use of face coverings in enclosed or crowded spaces, particularly when you come into contact with people you don't normally meet - but we will trust the judgment of the British people and no longer criminalise anyone who chooses not to wear one."
