A Tory health minister today warned New Year's Eve plans could have to be torn up in England - as "we can't really say" if there'll be a post-Christmas lockdown.
Gillian Keegan said “obviously we have to keep that option open” to new restrictions as Covid cases soar - with 129 hospitalisations and 14 deaths with Omicron.
Ms Keegan suggested people planning New Year’s Eve parties should hold off sending invites until things are more certain.
Asked by LBC presenter Nick Ferrari if he could send out party invitations for December 31, she replied: "Obviously there’s a risk there.”
She added: "There is uncertainty. So, if you can't change your plans quickly, then maybe think about it.
"There is uncertainty. We can't predict what the data is going to tell us before we've got the data.
"We are trying to take a balanced and proportionate approach so that people can see their families over Christmas to try and plan some stuff.
"But of course it is difficult to anticipate."
Last night Boris Johnson ruled out fresh restrictions in England over Christmas, but gave the biggest hint yet that they’ll come in in time for New Year’s Eve.
He is considering a return to Step 2 measures - which would force pubs and restaurants to serve outdoor-only and limit indoor gatherings - as soon as December 27.
Reports this morning claim Omicron may cause a milder disease than the Delta variant in most Brits - but not mild enough to stop a huge wave of hospitalisations.
According to Politico, the UK Health Security Agency is likely to offer a mixed outlook - as even if the virus is milder, it is so much more transmissible that large numbers of people could still get seriously ill.
It’s understood no formal assessment has yet been finished by the UKHSA - and there is no guarantee the data will be published before Christmas.
Health Minister Gillian Keegan today said the “leaked” data was “speculation”.
Ms Keegan today insisted she was “feeling Christmassy” - but conspicuously did not rule out new restrictions straight after December 25.
The Health Minister told Sky News: “Well obviously we’ve said we have to keep that option open.
“Because we are looking at cases that are going up at the moment, and we are looking at hospitalisation going up.
“So obviously we do have to reserve that option and we won’t hesitate. We will not hesitate if it’s required to keep people safe.”
Pub and restaurant gatherings have already plummeted due to people self-policing - with Chancellor Rishi Sunak announcing “insulting” hospitality grants of only “up to” £6,000 per venue.
Asked if people’s self-policing could help avoid a circuit-breaker lockdown, Ms Keegan replied: “We’re waiting for data on the severity. We will have to wait to see where we land on that. But we can’t really say.
“All 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 to where this virus goes, where this variant goes.”
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting last night demanded a decision from the government, saying: “The country also deserves some certainty about what comes after Christmas so that families and businesses can plan ahead.”
But Labour leader Keir Starmer is not yet backing a circuit-break lockdown.
He told Times Radio: The numbers are a cause for concern. [but] The hospitalisations are different than they were… the autumn before, when we called for the circuit break."
He added: “The government needs to get a grip, needs to come up with a plan.
“We will look at it just as we did last week with Plan B, if we think it's the right measures then we will then support it.”
It comes as the self-isolation period for fully vaccinated people who get Covid was cut from 10 to 7 days in England from today.
In order to qualify, people who’ve tested positive will have to take a lateral flow test on day 6 and day 7 of isolation, and both will need to come back negative.
The rule change may help more than 200,000 people see their families in time for Christmas, according to reports.
Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth called for the government to “fix sick pay" and do more to roll out anti-viral medicines in the healthcare system.
The shadow work and pensions secretary also called for an "urgent plan" to work with community groups and faith groups to drive up vaccination rates among the unvaccinated.
He also said "one of the failures of the Government's policy so far is not paying low-paid workers decent sick pay. We know that we've got to cut transmission and push these infection rates down, yet low-paid workers in the run-up to Christmas will lose out if they get this virus or if they need to isolate."
Mr Ashworth added: "There are now pills available which are coming on the market which can help you with this virus if you get it. We have not signed them off and we have no plan in this country to roll them out quickly.
"We would always back appropriate restrictions in the national interest. We would want to scrutinise them properly, but we've always done that throughout the last two years. But we, without access to all the real-time data that the Government have, are not in a position to specify specific restrictions."
The government announced this morning that it had signed contracts to buy a further 4.25 million courses of Covid antivirals for the NHS.
The two deals are for 1.75 million additional courses of Merck Sharp and Dohme’s (MSD) molnupiravir (Lagevrio) and 2.5 million additional courses of PF-07321332/ritonavir (Paxlovid) from Pfizer.
Both “will be available from early next year” to help fight Omicron.
