The Government 'will not hesitate' to impose further restrictions, including a circuit-breaker lockdown, according to the health minister.
Gillian Keegan refused to rule out a rumoured so-called circuit-breaker after Christmas amid Omicron growth fears.
The MP from Knowsley said the decision that was taken on further restrictions was 'difficult'.
READ MORE: Seven Omicron symptoms you should never ignore
Ms Keegan said: "We do not have all the information that you would like to have at your fingertips, in particular ... the severity of the disease.
"So it is a difficult balance but we think we've got the balance right. You know, saying to the country we wanted to lock down etc, when you've got those kind of figures wouldn't look proportionate."
Asked if the country continues on its current path if there is any chance that a circuit-breaker lockdown will not happen, Ms Keegan said: "We are waiting for data on the severity, we'll still have to wait to see where we land on that, but we can't really say, you know.
"What we've said is up to Christmas we're fine looking at the data, looking at the numbers we have at the moment, but, of course, we have to look at where this virus goes, where this variant goes, so we have to look at that data.
"I can't tell you in advance of getting that data, but you should be cheerful because we're doing a lot more than we could last year. We're able to see our families."
She added the Government will not hesitate to take further measures to tackle Covid-19 "if it's required to keep people safe".
Ms Keegan said: "Whilst the case numbers are very high, they haven't yet reached what was estimated only a week ago."
Asked if further restrictions are a question of when and not if, Ms Keegan said: "We've said we have to keep that option open because you know we are looking at cases that are going up at the moment and we are looking at hospitalisation, which is going up."
She said: "We do have to reserve that option and we won't hesitate ... if it's required to keep people safe. But right now the balanced and proportionate response is, we believe, the one that we've put in place."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
