Conservative Party chairman hints Plan B restrictions will be lifted soon

The chairman of the Conservative Party said there are “encouraging” signs that Plan B restrictions will be lifted at the end of the month.

Oliver Dowden told Sky News that it has “always been my hope” that the measures would be imposed for the “shortest period possible”.

He added: “I’m under no doubt the kind of burdens this puts on hospitality, wider business, schools and so on under, and I want us to get rid of those if we possibly can.

“The signs are encouraging but, clearly, we will wait to see the data ahead of that final decision.”

Boris Johnson announced so-called Plan B restrictions in December in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The measures include work from home guidance, face masks in crowded indoor settings and mandatory vaccine passports.

Health experts have said current data gives cause for optimism as coronavirus cases continue to fall in recent weeks.

On Friday 99,652 Covid-19 cases were recorded in the UK – the first time daily infections had fallen below six-figures since December 21.

The downward trend continued with a further 81,713 infections reported on Saturday.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also backed calls for Plan B restrictions to be lifted “as soon as possible”.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme, Sir Keir said: “I think the sooner we can lift the final restrictions, the better. I think that’s what the whole country want.

“I think it’s important that we’re led by the science on this. We had access to the Government scientific and medical advisers, and that’s helped us form our views.

“I hope those restrictions can be lifted as soon as possible, but I want them to be lifted because the medical science says they should be lifted, not simply because the Prime Minister is in a real mess and he’s desperately trying to get out of it.

“So, if it’s the right thing to lift those restrictions, we will vote to lift those restrictions. But we’ll be led by the science as we always have been, not by the politics of propping up a broken Prime Minister.”