Face masks will become mandatory from Tuesday in shops and public transport in England, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed under plans to combat the new Omicron variant of coronavirus.

But he told families they should plan for Christmas “as normal”.

The Cabinet Minister said on Sunday the situation is “nowhere near” the need to reintroduce social distancing rules and work from home guidance, despite a raft of precautionary measures being reintroduced to tackle the concerning strain.

Passengers arriving to the UK have been told that from 4am on Tuesday they will have to take a PCR test for Covid-19, with the expectation they will have to self-isolate until they test negative.

All contacts with a suspected case of Omicron will have to isolate for 10 days, regardless of their vaccination status, amid concerns existing jabs will be less effective against the strain that is believed to spread rapidly.

Details of the plans were incomplete when announced by Boris Johnson after two cases of the variant were confirmed in England on Saturday, but Mr Javid said the “face mask rules are planned to come in on Tuesday” to bring the nation back closer into line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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