Boris Johnson has told people to work from home from Monday as he announced strict new 'Plan B' Covid curbs amid fears over the Omicron variant and rising case rates.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister said the doubling time of the new strain could be "between two and three days" - meaning its spread will be rapid.
Covid vaccine passports will be made mandatory for nightclubs and large events, and rules on face masks would be “further extended” from Friday, to “most public indoor venues” including theatres and cinemas.
Any contact of a suspected Omicron case will also be forced to isolate for 10 days, the government has said.
“We will reintroduce the guidance to work from home," he said. “Employers should use the rest of the week to discuss working arrangements with their employees but from Monday you should work from home if you can.
“Go to work if you must but work from home if you can."
In the Commons, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs there are 568 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant but the estimated current number is “probably closer to 10,000”.
He said Omicron is “more transmissible than the Delta variant", adding: “This has made the virus an even more formidable foe.”
But Mr Javid was heckled by Tory MP, with Hazel Grove's William Wragg heard shouting “resign” when he confirmed the introduction of Covid passes.
The Health Secretary said the measures were needed because of new data which was causing fears for the NHS.
He said: “If you have a situation where the vaccines may be even a little bit less effective, … against severe disease and therefore hospitalisation, even if they’re a little bit less effective but you have hugely growing infection rates, then a smaller percentage of what is a much larger number will still result in significant hospitalisations.”
The Prime Minister, meanwhile, told the press briefing there would be exemptions on mask-wearing "where it is not practical, such as when eating, drinking, exercising or singing".
Trade Union Congress General Secretary Frances O’Grady called for the return of the furlough scheme, warning that ordering people to work from home "will hit jobs".
"Cleaners, receptionists, conference and banqueting staff and hospitality and retail workers will be short of work if people don’t come into offices," she said. “Ministers must reassure workers in hard-hit sectors like hospitality, leisure and travel that their livelihoods are secure."
The press conference was shown graphs which demonstrated the alarming spread of the new strain in South Africa.
Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said there was an “incredibly steep” increase in cases in South Africa, where Omicron was first detected, and “we are now seeing this translate into increases in hospitalisations”.
He said there was some data suggesting “around about a 300% increase in hospitalisations over the last week”.
Prof Whitty told a Downing Street press conference that the data in the UK was clear that Omicron cases here were also going up “incredibly fast now”, of between two to three days.
“That is an extraordinarily fast rate and you, therefore, can get with very small numbers to very large numbers really quite quickly.”
Prof Whitty said: “At the moment the spread is in younger people who you would not expect to go into hospital. It’s once you start moving up the ages and into vulnerable groups that you will start to see that.”
It came as the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) panel suggested at least 1,000 people a day may need hospital treatment for Omicron by the end of the year without restrictions.
Leaked minutes of their meeting held on Tuesday had said the Government should “urgently” consider the need for measures to reduce transmission of the virus and protect the NHS from “unsustainable pressure”.
The peak of the Omicron wave is “highly likely to be higher” than 1,000 to 2,000 variant-related hospitalisations per day without new rules, the document said.
