Boris Johnson has announced ‘plan B’ restrictions will be introduced in England from as early as next week, including guidance to work from home and vaccine passports being made mandatory at nightclubs and larger venues.
During a Downing Street press conference, the PM said: “It has become increasingly clear that omicron is growing much faster than the previous delta variant and is spreading rapidly all around the world.”
In a statement to MPs at the same time, health secretary Sajid Javid told the Commons there are currently 568 confirmed cases of the new variant in the UK, but that the estimated current number is “probably closer to 10,000”. He said the figure could hit one million before the end of the year.
“Most worryingly, there is evidence that the doubling time of omicron could currently be between two and three days,” Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, added at the press briefing earlier.
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