Plan for Christmas as normal despite omicron Covid variant, says Sajid Javid

Plan for Christmas as normal despite omicron Covid variant, says Sajid Javid

Families should keep planning for Christmas as normal, Sajid Javid has said as he sought to calm concerns over the new omicron variant of Covid after new restrictions were announced. During a round of broadcast interviews on Sunday morning the Health Secretary said the country was “nowhere near” adopting tougher lockdown restrictions despite the new variant. Mr Javid made clear the Government was not about to bring back work-from-home guidance, expand the new mask mandate to restaurants or adopt vaccine passports in England. He also indicated that a decision on whether the Covid booster jabs could be offered to all adults, rather than just those aged over 40, could come within days. His comments came after Boris Johnson announced a string of new restrictions on Saturday evening as it was found two cases of omicron had been discovered in the UK. Mask-wearing will become compulsory on public transport and in shops , people who come into contact with someone who has caught the omicron variant will have to self-isolate and travellers entering the UK from abroad will have to quarantine until they get a negative result from a day-two PCR test. Scientists and government ministers across the world have been