When and where you can stop wearing face masks - as England Covid rules end tomorrow

coronavirus.Covid-19 began spreading rapidly once the new Omicron variant emerged.In early January, cases soared past the 200,000 mark despite Plan B restrictions that were put in place in England.Thankfully, although they are still high, the number of confirmed cases are much lower than they were at the beginning of the year.They are now down to 88,447 as of January 25, up from the previous day's figure of 78,317.Boris Johnson and his Cabinet are hoping this means the variant has now peaked, while some experts feel the changes still present a risk.As a result, restrictions that have affected when we wear a face mask and the way we act in shops, nightclubs and other public places are being lifted.So what are the changes?As the clock ticks down on Plan B restrictions, people can legally stop wearing them in public indoor spaces from Thursday January 27; Plan B expires the day before.The Prime Minister has already announced they no longer had to be worn inside the classroom by secondary school pupils and staff, but now people do not have to wear them in indoor public places if they so choose.People can still wear masks if they want to.Johnson said they now hope to be able to allow Plan B measures to expire and move to 'Plan A' Covid rules.The PM said: "The Cabinet concluded that because of the extraordinary booster campaign together with the way the public have responded to the Plan B measures - we can return to Plan A in England and allow Plan B regulations to expire."This means the end of NHS Covid passes needed for large venues and work-from-home guidance has already been scrapped.Venues can choose to enforce the use of Covid passes on entry to their venue if they wish to do so.People will be able to visit care homes.