Covid: Call to publish parties report in full and pet spending boom continueson January 26, 2022 at 6:29 pm

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Wednesday evening. We’ll have another update for you tomorrow morning.

Sir Keir Starmer has urged Boris Johnson to publish the official report into Downing Street parties in full. At a heated Prime Minister’s Questions, the Labour leader told Mr Johnson he should quit and he was “doing damage” to the UK’s reputation. But the PM said he was “getting on with the job” and would stay on. The BBC has been told the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray is essentially complete – but she has not sent it to the prime minister yet. It’s still expected this will happen at some point today.

From tomorrow, shoppers in England will no longer have to wear masks, as Plan B rules end. However, retailers including Sainsbury’s, John Lewis and Waitrose will continue to ask customers to wear a face covering if they can – although they will only encourage, not force people to comply. Rail operators also said passengers would be expected to wear masks when the legal requirement for face coverings in many public places is dropped. However, supermarket Morrisons said its customers would not be expected to. The government is still advising people to wear a mask in enclosed or crowded spaces.

Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland the requirement to show proof of Covid status to enter bars, restaurants and cinemas has been scrapped. Nightclubs – which were forced to close on 26 December – can now also reopen, along with the return of indoor standing events. A Covid pass – showing proof of full vaccination, a recent negative test or recovery from the virus – will still be needed for nightclubs and large events.

Like Northern Ireland, Wales also implemented tougher measures in December in response to the Omicron variant. The country’s chief scientific adviser for health has now defended the advice for additional restrictions, saying it was not an over-reaction. Dr Rob Orford said the it reflected the uncertainty at the time about the dangers of the new variant. On 15 December, the Technical Advisory Group, which Dr Orford is co-chairman of, suggested that a lockdown might be needed to limit the spread of Omicron and protect the NHS. The advice was revised two days later and ministers instead decided to introduce some lower-level restrictions, including banning crowds at sporting events.

The growth in pet ownership during the pandemic has continued, with retailer Pets at Home forecasting record sales and profits. The company said it had a “record Christmas” with strong growth in sales across its 445 UK stores and its 300 vet and grooming outlets. It said sales in the third quarter were up 8.7% on 2020 and 28.1% on 2019. Chief executive Peter Pritchard said the lockdown craze for getting a pet showed no sign of abating.

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If you need a reminder of the latest rules on wearing masks across the UK, you can check our explainer here.

And there’s more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.

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