Face coverings will become mandatory again in shops and on public transport in England from next week under a raft of measures to target the new Covid variant, Omicron, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
PCR tests for everyone entering the United Kingdom will be introduced and all contacts of new variant cases will have to self-isolate, even if fully jabbed.
But Johnson said Christmas would be “considerably better” than in 2020.
The measures were “temporary and precautionary”, he added.
Johnson announced the restrictions at a Downing Street news conference after it was confirmed that two Omicron cases had been detected in Brentwood, Essex, and Nottingham. Officials said the cases were linked and connected to travel in southern Africa.
The new variant was first reported from South Africa on Wednesday, with early evidence suggesting it has a higher re-infection risk.
Johnson said: “Our scientists are learning more hour by hour, and it does appear that Omicron spreads very rapidly and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated.”
He added: “We need to slow down the spread of this variant here in the UK, because measures at the border can only ever minimise and delay the arrival of a new variant rather than stop it all together.”
The prime minister said the new measures would be reviewed in three weeks, by which time they should have better information about the “continuing effectiveness” of vaccines.
He said the “tightening up” of the mask rules will be outlined by Health Secretary Sajid Javid “in the next day or so”. He did not indicate when PCR tests would begin and in a press release the Department of Health only said it was among the measures being “introduced from next week”.
Covid restrictions were tightened across the UK days before Christmas last year amid a surge in cases.
Asked by the BBC’s Iain Watson if the prime minister could say with any confidence whether or not people could keep their Christmas plans this year, Mr Johnson replied: “We continue to be in a strong position largely thanks to the speed of the vaccine rollout, another booster rollout, and… I’m pretty confident to absolutely confident this Christmas will be considerably better than last Christmas.”
Countries around the world are introducing travel bans and restrictions on southern African countries in an effort to contain the variant’s spread.
Under the plans:
- Everyone entering the UK will have to take PCR test within two days of their arrival and self-isolate until they receive a negative result
- All contacts of suspected Omicron cases must self-isolate, regardless of whether or not they are fully jabbed
- Face coverings will be made compulsory in shops and on public transport – but hospitality settings will be exempt from the changes
- The health secretary is to ask advisers to consider rapidly extending boosters, including reducing the gap between the second dose of the vaccine and the booster
The UK’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, said there was a “reasonable chance” that vaccines could be less effective against the new variant but stressed people who are vaccinated or receive the booster jab will be less likely to become seriously ill.
He said the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation would now need to decide whether to extend the booster vaccine down to adults age 18, and whether a second dose should be offered to children aged 12-15. (BBC)
