Social distancing scrapped in waiting rooms in England

Patients in waiting rooms in England will no longer need to follow social distancing.

The new 'stepping down' rules will apply to NHS hospitals, GP surgeries and in emergency departments.

People will still be encouraged to wear facemasks and practice good hygiene.

In a letter to local health services, NHS England bosses said rules needed to "adapt" with Covid-19, since the virus is widely circulating and likely to remain endemic for some time to come.

Hospitals in England should also follow changes to cleaning routines and scrapping isolation for people exposed to the virus.

Patients with Covid will have a reduced isolation time, down from 10 days to 7.

It comes after testing rules were changed in England earlier this month as part of the government's 'living with Covid plan'.

Senior NHS bosses said they were changing the rules because of "the pressure from Covid-19 continuing".

There's currently a big concern about A&E waiting times and a backlog of planned surgeries, with hopes that relaxing of rules eases the burden.