The arrival of a new strain of coronavirus and warning of a fresh wave of infections has left many wondering how to stay safe this Christmas.
A storm surrounding the alleged Number 10 Christmas party in December last year shook public trust in the fight against Covid-19 and the government's own advice for reducing the spread of the virus.
Earlier this week Boris Johnson announced a move to his Plan B to tackle coronavirus after warning that the new strain is “growing much faster” than Delta.
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Work-from-home guidance will return, Covid health certificates are to become mandatory in large venues and mask rules will be extended to combat the Omicron variant.
One Liverpool expert urged people to "come together" to save Christmas and loved ones this year.
Liverpool University’s Institute of Population Health, Professor Iain Buchan, told the ECHO : "Come together like we came together before and we will reduce transmission. We will also keep things open.
"The last thing we want is to have knee-jerk reactions that close thing down too quickly, because that has, as we know, adverse consequences on many people's lives, most of our lives."
He urged caution for people attending gatherings of family, friends and colleagues this festive season.
Professor Buchan told the ECHO : "If you're going to a big party, I'd advise testing before you go.
"So you take a quick, rapid, antigen lateral flow test as close to going as possible, and that's one way of picking up.
"You wear a mask on public transport going to and from.
"And you don't go if you're not vaccinated."
He added: "It's what we already know, that we can do together, the choices we make - as individuals, as communities - to protect ourselves, our family and our community.
"It's ramping that up, but without an all-or-nothing approach. It's a gradual, calm, collected and together precaution."
So what are the four best ways to fight coronavirus, and why do they work?
Vaccines
The UK's vaccination drive got off to a fast start, but some people are yet to get their jabs.
Liverpool has one of the lowest vaccine uptake rates in the country, with 66.5% of people age 18 and over having two jabs of a covid vaccine.
With a new variant spreading in communities, and reports that it evades protection offered by vaccines, people have had some doubt about the point of vaccines.
But Professor Buchan said they will still help.
He told the ECHO : "There are still quite a few people who are leaving themselves open to a life-threatening fever instead of a mild cold.
"So that's number one, get vaccinated if you haven't been.
"Get a booster, regardless of any prior infection. Just get it when you're called and come forward, get boosted.
"There's a lot of speculation about effectiveness. Don't listen to speculation.
"It's not an all or nothing. It will give you some protection.
"We don't know how much yet, but it's better to have some protection than no protection."
Testing
Professor Buchan told the ECHO : "Get tested. There are plenty of tests out there, and it looks like they do pick up the new variant."
Liverpool pioneered a mass, symptom-free testing programme late last year.
Professor Buchan told the ECHO : "When Liverpool, and then Liverpool City Region, this time last year, was one of the first places in the world to introduce testing, with good communication, with integration with the local public health teams - a community effort - it worked."
Professor Buchan said that a soon-to-be published report into Liverpool's 2020 pilot "will show that it actually worked better than we'd anticipated".
Now rapid covid tests are available for free for anyone to pick up in pharmacies across the country.
The professor explained why testing works.
He told the ECHO : "If you pick up that you're infected, you can isolate. You can make choices to stop the spread of the infection.
"So it's about giving you information on what is going on in your body so that you can take control over that risk of passing on the virus.
"It's very quick and easy, as we all know.
"And our communities are actually very good at responding."
Masks
Wearing masks is widely recognised as an effective measure for reducing the spread of coronavirus, with a YouGov poll suggesting that 81% of people in Briton think it is effective.
Professor Buchan told the ECHO : "Wear face coverings in crowded places, on public transport, while shopping, and in any crowded spaces."
He added: "It doesn't cost anything to wear a mask. It's not much effort.
"On public transport, or in the shops, do it.
"It reduces transmission by at least half."
Many people opt instead for see-through visors, and the same YouGov survey suggests that 47% of people think they're effective, but Professor Buchan warned against using them.
He told the ECHO : "They don't work. I just wouldn't bother with those.
"Wear a cloth face covering that fits around your nose and your mouth. It must cover your nose.
"The more snuggly it fits, the less you're going to put out those moist particles that have got a risk of spreading the virus in the air around you.
"If it's an enclosed space, you have a much greater risk.
"So breathing out around a visor, it'll only stop that direct push of those moist particles to someone, but it'll go around the visor.
"If you're in a lift or whatever, it's not doing very much at all."
Ventilation
All these measures are made more effective with fresh air flowing through rooms, blowing away the covid particles lingering around us.
Professor Buchan told the ECHO : "We are heading towards winter and it will become increasingly difficult for people, but it doesn't cost anything to open a window, and that does make a difference.
"Good ventilation, and also choosing the places you go that are well ventilated, will help.
" Aerosol particles that just creep around the side of a mask and hang there in the air for a while, they shift quite quickly when there's a breeze.
"So a flow of air will move them quite quickly. If there's no flow, then they will just hand there.
"If you imagine you'd let off a smoke bomb - that represents what aerosol is there in the air.
"As soon as you open a door or a window, then you'd expect the smoke to dissipate quite quickly.
"The same is happening with moist air that's got covid particles in it."
By using this combination of vaccination, face coverings, testing and ventilation, people can "keep our communities going" and keep society open, according to Professor Buchan.
He told the ECHO : "I would urge, particularly the people of Liverpool, to to be as community spirited as they were last year when everyone came forward for testing, and gave the world some really important information.
"That kind of community spirit can raise the proportion of people we see at the moment on public transport with face coverings, and in shops.
"We do have a problem in Liverpool with certain areas that are not as high uptake in vaccination.
"Anyone who has not been vaccinated should rethink. And also boosters, get boosted.
"We can help. With that community spirit, we can urge one another to protect.
"And the more people in the community who adopt these measures, the more everybody is protected."
Professor Buchan added: "So keep that community spirit strong, and we should be able to keep calm and carry on."
