Winchester’s Member of Parliament, Steve Brine, listened carefully as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care unveiled the Government’s covid ‘Plan B’.
As the Prime Minister answered questions from the media in Downing Street, Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State, was quizzed by MPs throughout the evenings proceedings.
Mr Brine has welcomed confirmation that self-isolation has been replaced with daily tests for positive contacts, which he said “avoided a very dangerous pingdemic”. The MP is calling back to the chaos of the summer as many across Winchester and Chandler’s Ford had holidays disrupted due to strict self-isolation rules.
Steve, who is a member of the Covid Recovery Group with fellow Conservative backbenchers, quizzed the Health Minister saying; “It's very clear to me that 'learn to live with covid' is now as dead as the zero covid proponents want it to be.
Could I just ask my Right Honourable Friend about the 'papers please' mandatory certification, the world we're now moving into with respect to young people?”
The Winchester MP went on to seek clarity surrounding how young people can prove their covid certification and what is accepted by the pass.
The Secretary of State gave responded saying; “The NHS covid pass, the requirement in terms of what defines vaccination will be two jabs, a first and a second dose.
But I hope he also welcomes the fact that it’s that or a test, a negative lateral flow test.”
Among the new rules announced jointly by the PM and Health Secretary;
- From Friday 10 December, face coverings are mandatory for most indoor public venues including places of worship, theatres and cinemas - as well as on public transport and in places like shops and hairdressers. Masks won't be needed in pubs or restaurants, nor in venues like gyms where it's "not practical to wear them".
- From Monday 13 December, people should work from home "if they can".
- From Wednesday 15 December (subject to parliamentary approval), people will need an NHS Covid Pass - showing their vaccination status or a recent negative lateral flow test - to gain entry to:
- Nightclubs
- Indoor unseated venues with more than 500 people
- Unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people
- Any venue with more than 10,000 people
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