In the face of rising Coronavirus cases, the Government is considering whether tighter restrictions are required in England.
Options reportedly under consideration include a new lockdown, the return of social distancing and an 8pm pub and restaurant curfew, or urging the public to limit social mixing indoors.
It is not known exactly when a decision will be made, but the Sunday Times has claimed that December 26 has been earmarked for a Government update on new measures to tackle the surge of the Omicron variant across the country.
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This is despite Sage members reportedly telling the Government that waiting until after Christmas to impose Covid measures is not an option if they want to keep the NHS from becoming overwhelmed.
The group expects more than 3,000 hospitalisations a day come January, with daily infections and deaths on the rise.
Shoppers facing the Christmas rush in Newcastle City Centre on Monday shared their views about potential new restrictions with Chronicle Live.
23-year-old Francesca Moody, who is a primary school teacher visiting the city for Christmas, said she's concerned she won't be able to see family if another lockdown is imposed this festive period.
She said: "We didn't get to see family last year, so this Christmas holiday my partner and I were trying to see both sides. It'll be upsetting if we have to scrap those plans.
"My work Christmas-do was already cancelled, and so I've been trying to be extra careful.
"We never stopped wearing masks, even when the Government relaxed those measures, so it's good to see lots of people with them on again."
Her partner, 24-year-old Game Designer Alex Wamstecker, said he's been "exercising caution" but that he isn't personally concerned about the Omicron variant.
He added: "As far as I'm aware the mortality rate and hospitalisation rates aren't too alarming - but it is spreading through the population quickly."
55-year-old Geoff Cromby from South Shields is triple-vaxxed, and said he's not "particularly concerned" about the new variant either.
He continued: "I've followed the rules and advice up to now, and I will continue to do so, but I think the general feeling is one of contempt.
"There's a definite contradiction between the revelations of Boris Johnson's parties and a suggested lockdown. That contradiction seems to be stirring up bad feelings with the general public, from what I can tell."
44-year-old Claire Oxburry, who works in the hospitality industry in Newcastle City Centre, said it would be "very wrong" to separate families this Christmas time.
She is currently on a zero-hour contract and is worried about the financial implications of further restrictions to combat the new variant.
"Given my current situation, I couldn't afford to live without some sort of furlough scheme.
"I worked in care throughout the pandemic, sometimes doing over 55 hours a week, and I saw a lot of deaths. It was horrendous.
"I caught Covid myself, and I was very poorly with it due to my asthma, but that doesn't mean I support a new lockdown.
"The Government should never have got rid of masks and now, they should be introducing restrictions on the number of people going into shops before they force them to close completely."
57-year-old Grace Dyer, who was visiting Newcastle from the Scottish Borders, is also against further lockdowns.
She explained: "I supported the first lockdown, but not the subsequent ones.
"Having worked on the front-line for the first 16 months of the pandemic in hospital discharge, I'm no stranger to tragedy.
"I was very worried about what the virus would do at first, but now I feel we've got to look at the bigger picture.
"Suicide rates are high and elderly people's cognitive and physical abilities are being impacted by prolonged periods of isolation.
"Also lots of smaller and independent businesses are struggling, which has a knock-on impact on people's well-being and the economy as a whole.
"I think people should be given the autonomy to make the right decision for themselves and their families - when it comes to both going out and the vaccine."
She and her partner were on a trip to Newcastle as an alternative to a cancelled holiday to Lanzarote.
She added: "With all the testing it became very difficult and we didn't want to take the chance because we are seeing elderly relatives on Christmas day."
36-year-old Richard McQueen, who works in the city's entertainment industry, is proceeding "cautiously" but not "worriedly" as Omicron spreads.
He said: "I'm taking all the necessary steps to protect myself and my family, and I'm just hoping there is some kind of compensation to industries like mine that are impacted.
"I believe we'll get an announcement shortly after Christmas, which will pull us more into line with what Ireland is doing around curfews.
"I think given the mental state of the country, it wouldn't work to keep people apart for Christmas, and the public will be more accepting of restrictions afterwards if they've managed to share some special moments with the ones they love."
As of yet, no new plans have not been officially confirmed, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding a Cabinet meeting at 2pm today.
Appearing on the final ever episode of The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the pandemic had made it clear decision makers were not able to give any guarantees.
After it was suggested to him that he was not ruling out new restrictions before Christmas, Mr Javid said: "There are no guarantees in this pandemic, I don’t think.
"At this point, we just have to keep everything under review."
The UK Health Security Agency recently announced that 12 people have now died from the Omicron variant, while another 82,886 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases were recorded in the UK on Sunday.
In the North East, the most recent figures show that a third of all Covid cases are now Omicron with 1,500 confirmed cases of the new variant.
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