STUDENTS no longer have to wear a face covering from today - but York's largest secondary school has said it may reintroduce compulsory masks if necessary.

The message to parents from Archbishop Holgate's School comes as the relaxation to Plan B rules comes into force, with face coverings and Covid passes no longer legally required in England.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the measures can be lifted due to the success of the Covid-19 vaccine programme and falling rates of the Omicron variant of Covid.

Parents and carers of children attending Archbishop Holgate's in Hull Road have been told that although face masks are no longer compulsory in school, 'this remains something that we would strongly encourage in communal areas and corridors'.

"As a school we shall continue to closely monitor the levels of Covid-19 within our community and should the need arise reintroduce compulsory face coverings if appropriate.

"We shall of course remain vigilant with other Covid control measures which include enhanced ventilation, frequent cleaning particularly of high contact points and encouragement of regular testing of all staff and students. Thank you for your continued support."

Across York, people have been advised by York's assistant director for public health to continue taking precautions, including wearing face coverings in crowded spaces.

Some York shops, including Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, have said they will continue to ask shoppers to wear face masks. Morrisons and Lidl are asking customers to make 'a considerate decision' when choosing whether to wear a covering.

Rail operators are also telling customers to continue wearing them.

The number of patients with Covid at York and Scarborough hospitals rose to a new record at the start of this week - with 168 inpatients with confirmed and suspected Covid-19 on Monday.

This was up from 155 last Friday and only 74 fewer than the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's record for the pandemic - 242 patients at the height of the Alpha wave last January.

Across North Yorkshire, figures show the county's Covid rate is 999.1 per 100,000 population.

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In hospitals serving North Yorkshire’s residents, 371 beds are occupied with Covid patients, 11 in intensive care.

Hundreds of education settings are affected by staff and pupil absences due to the virus and more than 396 residents and staff in county care settings have tested positive.

The lifting of Plan B measures also means limits on visitors to care homes in England will be scrapped from next week as the country moves towards living with coronavirus.

From January 31, those living in care homes will be able to have unlimited visits from family and friends, while self-isolation periods will also be cut, the Department for Health and Social Care has said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signalled his intention to start treating Covid more like flu, and has said wearing a face mask will now be a matter of personal judgment.

Under the scrapping of Plan B, larger venues and nightclubs will now also be able to choose whether to force visitors to show Covid passes before attending events.

Regarding the new rules for care homes, self-isolation periods will be cut from 14 days to 10 days for those who test positive and homes will only have to follow outbreak management rules for 14 rather than 28 days.

People can also be released from isolation early if they test negative on days five and six, in line with the wider public.