Relief To End Impossible-To-Police COVID Restrictions

The end of Plan B COVID-19 restrictions is a relief for police officers, who were in an “absolutely impossible position”, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

The measures in place to combat the Omicron variant, including compulsory mask-wearing on public transport and in shops, guidance to work from home and vaccine certificates, ended on 26 January.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said it was a positive move for the police. He said: “We cannot be expected to police restrictions now that are so unpopular, and have been completely marginalised by high-profile incidents involving the Government.

“It puts policing in an absolutely impossible position. We police by consent in this country and I think that consent has gone.”

He added that officers would probably continue to wear masks for the time being to reduce abstraction rates in the force, but lessons should be learned for any future restrictions.

He said: “We have to be very mindful that we can’t put our officers in a position that they’re policing something so overwhelmingly unpopular, going forward.

“The measures are ending anyway – although they will probably persist within the police and other public bodies for the time being, just to make sure that abstractions don’t continue – but I will be linking in with the force about an exit strategy about it.”