Covid restrictions will be needed for up to eight weeks, a UK Health Security Agency expert has said.
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the UKHSA, has warned that the country faces "a very difficult four weeks ahead" with rising case numbers both in the community and in hospitals.
Dr Hopkins said that if Omicron modelling so far is correct then the country will "need some level of restrictions in place for the next four to eight weeks".
READ MORE: Covid restrictions update across UK as Omicron variant spreads
She also urged people to take a lateral flow test before they socialise as she appeared before the Science and Technology Committee of MPs.
Dr Hopkins said: "We expect to see Omicron displace Delta, but they are going to live together in parts of the country for longer and we are going to continue to see hospitalisations from Delta for the next two weeks baked in from the numbers that we have.
"And then we will start seeing the Omicron case numbers come into hospital."
Scientists at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) said the new strain could cause between 25,000 to 75,000 deaths in England over the next five months after examining experimental data.
MPs are due to vote on Plan B restrictions in the Commons later, with Boris Johnson facing a major Tory revolt over plans for Covid passports for nightclubs and large events.
Earlier today, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged Scots to limit their socialising to a maximum of three households in a bid to save Christmas.
When asked whether the UK Government would follow Nicola Sturgeon in giving the guidance, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We would urge people who are going to be seeing loved ones or spending time otherwise indoors with people, particularly those who might be more vulnerable to this.
"To get tested beforehand, to access testing, to use ventilation, to use good hand respiratory hygiene, wash your hands, and that is the advice that we give to the public at this time."
As of 9am on Tuesday, there had been a further 59,610 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, the highest daily total since January 9, the Government said.
It also said a further 150 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 172,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
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