Boris bows to Omicron, UK Xmas may be in lockdown, begins isolation of all UK arrivals
Boris Johnson has dramatically put Covid-19 unlocking into reverse as the world scrambles to get a grip on the Omicron variant – extending travel bans, enforcing day-two PCR tests for arrivals in Britain, and making facemasks compulsory in shops and on trains.
At a hastily-arranged Downing Street press conference, the PM painted a grim picture of the potential threat from the new ‘super-mutant’ strain after two cases were identified in the UK – admitting he cannot guarantee Christmas will go ahead as hoped.
He declared that all arrivals to the country must self-isolate until they get a negative result from a gold-standard test – which can identify those carrying Omicron.
All contacts of people infected with the variant must stay at home for 10 days.
Flanked by medical and science chiefs Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance, Mr Johnson also announced that facemasks on public transport and shops will be compulsory – although struggling bars and restaurants will be spared for now.
But extraordinarily despite the alarm at the new peril the government has yet to work out when most of the new restrictions will come into force.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid is expected to clarify the timeline over the next couple of days, with No10 suggesting they will be introduced ‘next week’.
It marks the first time since last winter that restrictions have been tightened in England – although Scotland and Wales have previously responded to spiking infection rates.
The premier said the measures will be reviewed in three weeks, and in the meantime the booster jab campaign will be ramped up.
The changes do not quite go as far as the formal ‘Plan B’ outlined by the government in the summer, as Mr Johnson stopped short of bringing back orders to work from home where possible and introducing vaccine passports.
But the PM refused to rule out a Christmas lockdown when pressed by reporters, warning that Omicron ‘diverges quite significantly’ from other Covid variants and that it will ‘reduce the protections of our vaccines over time’.
He was only willing to provide a lukewarm commitment that the festive season will be ‘better’ than last year’s.
Sir Patrick also warned that the UK may need to ‘face up’ to the possibility of further restrictions if the Omicron variant is very transmissible.
And Prof Whitty said the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will 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 who decided with their families to get the first dose of the vaccine.
Wary that many on the Conservative backbenches will be angered by the move, Mr Johnson said: ‘I very much hope that we will find that we continue to be in a strong position and we can lift these measures again, but right now this is the responsible course of action to slow down the seeding and the spread of this new variant and to maximise our defences so that we protect the gains we’ve worked for so hard.’
Four more countries – Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola – will be added to the red list from 4am on Sunday, meaning only British residents can come to this country, and they have to stay in a quarantine hotel.
South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia were put on the banned roster yesterday amid growing international panic about the ‘variant of concern’, which scientists fear is more transmissible and can dodge vaccines.
Earlier, Mr Javid said that two cases of the strain were detected in Nottingham and Brentwood in Essex. Both are linked to travel to southern Africa, the suspected origin of the mutation.
The infected individuals and all members of their households have been told to self-isolate after the UK Health Security Agency confirmed the sequencing.
The Prime Minister said: ‘We’re not going to stop people travelling, I want to stress that, we’re not going to stop people travelling, but we will require anyone who enters the UK to take a PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival and to self-isolate until they have a negative result.
‘Second, 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. We will require all contacts of those who test positive with a suspected case of Omicron to self-isolate for 10 days regardless of your vaccination status. We will also go further in asking all of you to help contain the spread of this variant by tightening up the rules on face coverings in shops and on public transport.’
The Welsh Government and the Scottish government are mirroring the restrictions on international travel, and warning they could go even further.
Another 39,567 Covid cases were recorded in the UK on Saturday – down 3.36 per cent from 40,941 posted last Saturday – while the number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid fell by 12.7 per cent from 150 last week to 131.
The EU, US and Canada all followed Britain’s move to impose travel restrictions on visitors from southern Africa ahead of the WHO adding the strain, also known as B.1.1.529, to its highest category for concerning variants.
Britain’s first two Omicron infections came as a spate of cases were found across Europe, with at least 61 new cases of Covid entering the Netherlands from South Africa this morning. Authorities are currently sequencing the tests for the new variant.
Europe’s first case of the variant was spotted in Belgium yesterday – despite the unvaccinated woman who caught it having traveled to Turkey and Egypt. Germany and the Czech Republic both confirmed suspected cases today.
Germany’s initial sequencing suggests a traveler from South Africa was carrying the virus with several mutations shared by Omicron. Officials are awaiting full sequencing later today. Australian authorities – who also banned travel to nine countries in the region – fear the variant may have already entered the country.
According to Dailymail, the US’ chief medical officer Dr. Anthony Fauci said he would ‘not be surprised if the Omicron Covid variant was already in America. His comments came as President Joe Biden was slammed for still allowing flights from South Africa to land in the US before the start of a travel ban on Monday.
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