9 December 2021

Government has announced that England will move to Plan B in response to the risks of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

This means:

  • From 10 December face coverings will be required by law in most indoor public places and on public transport. Face coverings should be worn in communal areas of universities, colleges and schools by staff, visitors and pupils or students in year 7 and above
  • From 13 December office workers who can work from home, should do so
  • From 15 December certain venues and events will be required by law to check that all visitors aged 18 years or over are fully vaccinated, have proof of a negative test in the last 48 hours, or have an exemption.

Also, you must:

  • Get tested and self-isolate if required. If you’re a contact of someone who may have been infected with the Omicron variant, you must self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of your age, vaccination status or any negative test results
  • If you haven’t already, get vaccinated
  • Let fresh air in if you meet indoors - meeting outdoors is safer.

Additionally, from 7 December anyone aged 12 and over must show a negative PCR or lateral flow test result before travelling to England from abroad. You must take the test in the two days before you travel to England. You must also take a PCR test within two days of arriving and self-isolate until you get a negative test result, even if you’re fully vaccinated. Check what you need to do to travel to England from another country.

Christmas gatherings

While the Trust has not prohibited out of work gatherings, we ask staff to take extra precautions and a common sense approach with these plans. Please ensure all current restrictions are followed (as outlined above) including the use of face coverings and safe distancing indoors, and undertake lateral flow tests (needing a negative result) on the day. Please do not attend if you have any respiratory symptoms of any kind.

COVID-19 and seasonal respiratory viruses are now in wide circulation within our communities. We want all of our staff to enjoy the holiday period but we ask everyone to consider the risks of attending indoor gatherings, particularly with groups of staff from the same service and the potential impact on service delivery.

We are aware and thankful that many services have taken the difficult decision to postpone celebrations until 2022.

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