‘PLAN B’ TO CONTAIN OMICRON; BRITISH PM ANNOUNCED TOUGHER COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS

Thu 09 December 2021:

As the number of Covid cases in England continues to rise amid fears of a new variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced further measures to help stem the spread of the deadly virus. Vaccine passports have been made mandatory for venues with large crowds as part of ‘Plan B.’ Work-from-home guidelines have also been released.

According to Johnson, the passes will be necessary “for access into nightclubs and venues where large crowds gather.” “From Monday, you should work from home if you can, go to work if you must.”

Masks are now required in “most public indoor venues, including theatres and cinemas,” according to the administration.

While the latest measures are far from the full lockdowns imposed earlier in the pandemic, they have been described as a “hammer blow” for city center restaurants, cafes, and stores desperate for Christmas business to recover their finances.

Many members of Johnson’s own party are also furious over the new limits, fearing their impact after the economy dropped by an unprecedented 10% last year.

Johnson also advised people to get vaccinated, saying that the “single biggest thing that every one of us can do is to get our jabs and crucially to get that booster as soon as our turn arrives.”

As of now, there have been 568 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, said Health Secretary Sajid Javid. He further warned that the actual figure must be “closer to 10,000”. This comes just after PM Johnson has said that early indications suggest the variant “is more transmissible than Delta”. He warned that there could be a “big rise in hospitalisations”.

During the brief, he said, “We must be humble in the face of this virus, the proportionate and the responsible thing to move to Plan B in England”.

Elaborating on the new variant he said that it is “growing much faster than the previously dominant Delta variant and “we can’t yet assume Omicron is less severe than previous variants”.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said officials estimated that the number of Omicron infections was actually approximately 20 times higher than the number of confirmed cases, meaning they could be closer to 10,000.

Christmas Party

Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons said that recent accusations that Johnson’s staff partied at Downing Street during a Christmas lockdown last year have undermined his legitimacy.

A leaked video showed senior staff laughing and joking about how to explain a gathering in Downing Street during a Christmas COVID-19 lockdown last year. Johnson has apologised.

Simmons said the public is asking how Johnson can “really be a moral authority, guiding the public on what to do” after dodging questions about the Christmas party last year, which was “offensive to the British public”.

A poll from Savanta ComRes also suggested some people may be less willing to follow new restrictions following the revelations about the Downing Street party.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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