Transmission of the Omicron variant is “eye-wateringly high”, though there is still uncertainty about its impact on the NHS and wider services, a leading expert has said.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the global charitable foundation Wellcome, said “we’re in the most difficult, most uncertain time, perhaps of the whole pandemic, certainly since March of 2020.”
London’s hospitality and culture bosses are urging the Government to make a clear decision on whether there will be more stringent Covid restrictions in place over Christmas.
The Prime Minister didn’t reveal any new curbs on Monday but pledged to recall parliament if he decides to implement further restrictions, a process that takes 48 hours.
It came as Mayor of London Sadiq Khan warned time was running out and cancelled the capital’s NYE celebration in Trafalgar Square saying: “The safety of Londoners must come first.”
Meanwhile, health secretary Sajid Javid is understood to want to cut the isolation period from 10 days to seven to combat the number of NHS staff off work with Covid.
