Christmas is a special time for families and friends to come together - something that is appreciated more than ever following months of lockdowns and ever changing restrictions since the arrival of Covid.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the country earlier this week and promised no more restrictions before the big day.
But for some this year, they were already told they would have to spend the festive period completely alone, confined to their bedrooms with no-one to share a Christmas dinner with or gift presents too.
Sarah Miller, 24, says she had all the symptoms of the new Omicron variant before testing positive on December 18.
Her 10 day isolation will end on the 28th - just three days after Christmas.
Her younger sister Ruth, 19, is stranded at university in Stirling and will also be forced to spend Christmas day completely alone after also testing positive.
It will be Sarah's first spent eating a Christmas dinner by herself in her Stockport bedroom, which will be cooked and then dropped off by her mum who will ring a bell outside her door.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , Sarah said: "I have been ticking off all the symptoms of the new variant.
"I have been so tired and had a headache and a fever, but I feel like I am getting over it quite quickly.
"I am living at my mums, but she is vulnerable so I have been staying in my room ever since I tested positive and have only left to use the bathroom. Meals are being cooked and left outside my door, it is so strange.
"Christmas day will be so weird - I will hear my family celebrating downstairs, playing music and eating their dinner and I will just be sat by myself.
"I have been getting texts from my mum throughout the day asking if I need anything, and she is only in the room next door. We just can't take any risks.
"We are all missing out on the Christmas we should've had, which is hard enough as it is after this last year.
"My family is quite religious and it is normally a really big occasion in my house where we celebrate with all our family and our extended family from Scotland.
"This time around, it is just my mum, dad and my three younger sisters who will actually be together.
"It is certainly going to be difficult and it is annoying I have been stuck in and unable to do anything for myself but we would rather be safe than make anyone in our family ill."
Anyone who gets symptoms is told to take a PCR test and begin an isolation period of 10 days.
Earlier this week, it was advised that the self-isolation period could be cut down to just seven days if two lateral flow tests were taken 24 hours apart on day six and seven and came back negative.
Christopher Geneux, 39, usually spends Christmas with his family or with his best friend in Manchester.
But after he received a positive test result, despite absolutely no symptoms, he realised he would be stuck in his New Islington home by himself on December 25.
"I just plan to cook myself a nice meal and get drunk to be honest," he told the M.E.N.
"I have lived by myself for a long time but always see my family down south at Christmas or I will spend it with my best friend.
"After testing positive, not only will I be on my own at Christmas but I also missed my friends 40th birthday which we had been looking forward to for so long."
It was after a friend of his tested positive for Coronavirus that Christopher opted to do a test to be safe.
He added: "If I felt really unwell I would be okay with staying in at Christmas, but it is even more frustrating because I don't have any symptoms at all.
"It isn't just spending Christmas Day alone that will be hard, it is everything that leads up to it that I haven't been able to do, like the going out shopping and going for drinks with friends and getting all excited.
"I knew I wasn't going to be seeing my immediate family this year so that has made it slightly easier, but it is still such a big thing spending Christmas day with loved ones.
"It is just really bad timing. I just don't really know what to do with myself.
"I have had a shopping delivery and got lots of red wine so I am trying to just stay positive."
And Conor Crawford, 25, who lives in Salford with his flatmate Matt will also resort to talking to his girlfriend and family over a video chat call after testing positive.
He also missed his girlfriend's 22nd birthday celebrations due to his self-isolation.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News the day after his positive test result he said he was 'gutted' at not being able to see his family but looked forward to arranging a second Christmas day when he is out of isolation.
"I have only recently come back from the army so was away from February to October, so am very used to spending time away from family and friends," he said.
"But it does feel different when it is Christmas and something you have no control over. I wasn't even able to see my girlfriend on her birthday.
"At first it was just me that had tested positive, so I was preparing to be by myself, but now my flatmate has also tested positive we will just spend it together.
"My stepdad is quite unwell so I just wanted to do a lateral flow test to be safe before going home to Cheshire, but then it came back positive and all the plans just went out of the window.
"It will certainly be interesting - we are just going to keep ourselves busy on the day. I have done birthdays and other big occasions over Facetime before so it is what it is.
"It is devastating and I am gutted because it was going to be the big Christmas back at home after being away for so long, but at least I will be out of isolation by new year to see everyone."
