‘End Work From Home And Fire Up Economy'

Coronavirus: Cases Fall In Most Regions

- Martyn Brown

Boris Johnson is being urged to lift working-from-home guidance this month to boost the economy as experts say the pandemic is finally behind us.

Demands for a return to “normality” have grown as official figures showed Covid cases are now falling in almost every region of the country.

Current restrictions, known as Plan B, expire on January 26 and will be reviewed in a fortnight by ministers.

The measures include guidance to work from home where possible, plus a requirement for wearing masks indoors and vaccine passports for large events.

Mr Johnson is being urged to prioritise ending work-from-home guidance in an effort to boost economic growth.

UK Health Security Agency statistics show Covid rates are on their way down in eight of England’s nine regions, suggesting the worst of the Omicron surge may now be over.

With the number of coronavirus cases falling again yesterday to 120,821, down 13.1 per cent on last week, Professor David Heymann said the UK is the closest of any country in the northern hemisphere to exiting the pandemic.

He said: “The countries we know best in the northern hemisphere have varying stages of the pandemic.