New Year's Eve celebrations are hanging in the balance as the Prime Minister mulls over the latest Omicron Data.
Boris Johnson will receive crunch covid data which could boost or derail upcoming festivities as Monday becomes D-Day for New Year's Eve, the Mirror reports.
Scientists have warned that even though the new variant appears to cause less severe illness, the sheer number of cases and higher transmissibility means that even a small increase in those needing hospital treatment could overwhelm the NHS.
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The hospitality industry is facing an anxious wait to find out if they will be hit with new restrictions as New Year celebrations are just days away.
Legally-binding curbs impacting on New Year’s Eve would need to be agreed at an emergency Cabinet meeting as soon as Monday.
Parliament would then be recalled this week so MPs could vote on the measures.
The Prime Minister, who is at his country retreat Chequers, will chair a virtual meeting of top officials to study vital figures collected over the past week.
Campaign for Pubs campaign director Greg Mulholland told the Mirror: “This is an extremely anxious time for publicans and staff in England, not knowing if they will be able to open this week and for New Year.
“New Year’s Eve is very important for many pubs and with December trade already badly hit by previous announcements, further restrictions would be devastating, including the nonsensical suggestion of outdoor only opening in midwinter.
“Plus, the reality is, if the Prime Minister bans people from meeting in pubs, many thousands of people will instead attend illegal parties which will be much less safe than controlled, ventilated pubs.
“So we hope that the data is positive and that pubs can continue to open to the benefit of everyone.”
Night Time Industries Association chief executive Michael Kill urged the PM to “to act with clarity and decisiveness, and firmly reject calls for further draconian measures”.
He added: “Once again our sector has suffered enormous damage as a result of the Government response to the pandemic in recent weeks.
“It’s likely that thousands of our businesses will never recover from this damage.
“Most of these are small and medium-sized owner-run businesses that play a vital part in the cultural, social, and economic lives of our towns and cities.
“And if that is not bad enough, we now face the possibility that major parts of our sector may face further curbs, and, in the case of nightclubs, total closure in the coming days.”
He added: “However, there are increasingly promising reports that the Omicron variant, though highly transmissible, may not be as aggressive as previous variants.”
One option the PM has is to stop short of legally-binding measures but issue guidance instead - leaving it to people to decide how much risk they are comfortable with.
Some scientists have long been calling for a circuit breaker lockdown, with Independent Sage saying it needed to be rolled out before Christmas for it to have any effect on curbing Omicron.
On Boxing Day, the Government began sending text messages reminding people to “Get Boosted Now” and build up protection through jabs.
The Prime Minister confirmed that no further restrictions would be brought in before Christmas, but did not rule out any changes ahead of the New Year and Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there will be no announcement on measures after Christmas until 27 December.
In London, New Year's Eve celebrations for 6,500 people in Trafalgar Square have already been scrapped over Omicron fears.
In England currently, as of December 15, covid passports are now needed for entry into nightclubs and other large venues and face coverings were made compulsory in most indoor public settings, including public transport.
The self-isolation period has also been cut from ten days to seven, for those who can produce a negative lateral flow test on day six and their final quarantine day.
But there are four options that the country faces ahead of the New Year, including a circuit break lockdown or a full lockdown.
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