The Omicron variant of Covid-19 spread rapidly across the UK in December 2021 and January 2022 before the infection rate gradually fell away, emboldening Boris Johnson to drop the “Plan B” restrictions brought in to stop the spread before Christmas.
Speaking in the House of Commons in February, the prime minister said that guidance on mask-wearing in public places and presenting Covid passes to enter crowded venues would be scrapped as the New Year spike in infections waned without having resulted in the mass hospitalisations experts had feared.
