Boris Johnson asked millionaires to work at home. This has caused anger among city bosses. London stations have been left near the deserted, and normally jammed roads during rush hour are “unbelievably silent”.
Waterloo’s famous concourse was not crowded with commuters this morning.
Traffic was also running freely on routes usually choked with traffic with one central London resident tweeting: ‘I’m slap bang in the middle of London and roads are unbelievably quiet now’. Another commuter wrote: “Work from your home, order well, and get really back.” Tube completely empty today’.
Although the working from home recommendation represents the latest step in Mr Johnson’s Plan B, which aims to stop the spread Omicron throughout the UK, critics such as his MPs think it is just a steppingstone towards another lockdown.
It is not only incredulous that the PM insisted people don’t need to go to the office but they should attend Christmas parties and dinners.
Andrew Monk, CEO of VSA capital, has hit out at the ‘absurd’ guidance and claims that his staff have been begging to come to the office despite the Prime Minister’s diktat.
He replied, “I don’t like it.” This is absurd. Last year, you were instructed to go to work and not party. It’s now that we are being instructed to go to work but party. This doesn’t make any sense, does it?
“We have all of our employees back, and they are actually happy to be here. The staff are disappointed to be told that you can work remotely if needed.
“Most people have asked if they can come in. Although the office is still open, it will have a small staff. While we’re following government guidelines, it’s clearly disappointing.
He stated, “We’re more productive when you’re in the same office together.” There is clear evidence. When we fundraise, it is much more effective to do so with actual clients than via Zoom. The staff also want to be there.
“I think we have made the workplace as secure as home. I do not believe that we put anyone’s safety at risk.
Waterloo Station was almost empty at 7am this morning as commuters decided to stay home following Boris Johnson’s frustration with City bosses.
Paddington looked similar this morning, as commuters stopped arriving until the New Year.
As work-from-home guidance from the government began on Monday, a quiet and almost empty carriage has been taken from Maidenhead towards Paddington.
Commuters use the London Underground at Kings Cross to get around after Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, initiated ‘Plan B’ in an effort to stop the Omicron spreading.
The start of Plan B, which allows you to work from home, was much more peaceful at Waterloo Station in London.
More than 60 Tory backbenchers are poised to oppose the Plan B measures to counter the threat of the Omicron variant – the biggest rebellion of Mr Johnson’s premiership
More than 60 Tory backbenchers are poised to oppose the Plan B measures to counter the threat of the Omicron variant – the biggest rebellion of Mr Johnson’s premiership.
These restrictions will make it mandatory to show proof that you have been vaccinated or passed a negative screening test at large venues by this week.
Thanks to Labour’s backing, the Prime Minster will not be embarrassed by an embarrassing defeat.
Many MPs fear that the Prime Minister might impose more restrictions before Christmas.
As many as ten Parliamentary Private Secretaries are on the verge of resigning ahead of tomorrow’s votes on the new restrictions.
The MPs, who serve as ministers’ assistants, have formed a secret WhatsApp group to discuss how they will vote when the measures are put to parliament, according to The Daily Telegraph.
It is understood one secretary was on the brink of resignation last night after watching the Prime Minister’s televised statement in which he confirmed ‘vaccine passports’ will go ahead.
The MPs include two of Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove’s three ministerial aides, Danny Kruger and Angela Richardson, and two of Justice Secretary Dominic Raab’s assistants, Joy Morrissey and Mike Wood.
Officials are already drawing up a Plan C which would see the return of ‘checking in’ to a pub or restaurant, using masks in all indoor spaces and having to show a vaccine status at even more venues.
Following the UK’s confirmation of 1,239 more Omicron-related cases in the UK, the UK Covid Alert level was elevated to 4 from 3
Below is a map showing the 10 areas with the highest number of Omicron cases and suspicions in England. It was created by the UK Health Security Agency. West Northamptonshire has been identified as the hotspot of this strain. However, London is home to eight out of ten.
Tory former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said last night he believed Plan B was a ‘stepping stone’ into another lockdown – and accused ministers of moving ‘without the facts’ on Omicron. ‘The problem is we are halfway between two things: the Government has done a bit by what they call Plan B – but in a way Plan B is a stepping stone to a lockdown,’ he said.
Backbencher Henry Smith said Plan B was a ‘danger to our civil liberties’ which would ‘severely impact’ economic recovery prospects.
He added: ‘I think it is yet further distraction from other health conditions which require attention – such as the cancer backlog – and I don’t actually think [the restrictions] work.’
He branded the proposals ‘unnecessary’ and ‘damaging’ and said further restrictions would ‘only amplify those effects’, adding it ‘feels like’ a lockdown by stealth. Conservative Peter Bone told the Daily Mail vaccine passports ‘are nothing more than an identity card’ and do not work.
‘Testing is the way if you want to stop people [spreading Covid].’
Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen slammed Plan B as ‘a complete overreaction not supported by the science or the data’.
‘I’m not voting for Plan B, I didn’t even vote for Plan A, and I certainly will not be supporting any further removal of freedoms from British citizens over a mild variant with a very low hospitalisation rate.’
Rebel ringleader Steve Baker accused the Government of creating a ‘miserable dystopia’ and suggested his party was drifting into authoritarianism.
He said at least 60 Tories will vote against Plan B but it was a ‘foregone conclusion because our useless opposition in name only will continue to support the Government, however authoritarian they are’.
Tory whips will today continue their attempts to quell the revolt, and were engaged in a ‘massive ring round’ over the weekend.
However, Plan B will be law despite the revolt’s scale as Labour supports the measure tomorrow.
Sir Keir Starmer said the party will vote with the Government – not to support the Prime Minister but the NHS. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi insisted yesterday the Government is not introducing a ‘vaccine passport’.
He told BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show: ‘This is not a vaccine passport. These are high-risk events where we ask people either to take a free lateral flow test or to be vaccinated to attend.’
Johnson was warned about the potential impact that restrictions would have on the hospitality industry. Clive Watson, chairman of the City Pub Group which operates almost 50 pubs in London and the South East, said: ‘Revenue could take a hit of around 30 per cent – it would be hugely damaging and without government support many businesses will be tipped over the edge.’
In an effort to defeat the Omicron variant, Mr Johnson turbocharged last night the booster program.
The ambitious goal of offering a third jab for every adult by the end of this year to 18 million people will be realized. That’s a rate that is nearly one million per day.
For the purpose of helping, the army and extended clinic hours will be deployed.
In an address to the nation last night, the Prime Minister warned that a ‘tidal wave’ of Omicron variant is coming that threatens to ‘overwhelm’ the NHS and lead to ‘very many deaths’ if the population is not boosted.
Announcing a ‘national mission unlike anything we have done before in the vaccination programme’, Mr Johnson said the NHS had to ‘match its best vaccination day so far – and then beat it day after day’.
‘A fortnight ago I said we would offer every eligible adult a booster by the end of January,’ the prime minister said.
‘Today, in light of this Omicron Emergency, I am bringing that target forward by a whole month.
‘Everyone eligible aged 18 and over in England will have the chance to get their booster before the New Year.’
However, within minutes of the announcement the NHS website was down as many people tried to book appointments.
The average daily dose of booster doses has been just over 400,000 in the UK over the past week. Current efforts need to exceed the doubled target to achieve the target.
They will need to surpass the March 20th record of 752,308 doses first and 91.977 doses second.
Mr Johnson admitted that the focus on the ‘Omicron Emergency Boost’ would mean some other non-urgent appointments will need to be postponed until the New Year.
‘If we don’t do this now, the wave of Omicron could be so big that cancellations and disruptions, like the loss of cancer appointments, would be even greater next year,’ he said.
The booster program will open today to all adults over 18 years old who have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccination within three months.
Online bookings for adults over 30 years old will become available starting today. For those over 18, you can book your appointment online beginning Wednesday. However, some appointments are still available at the door.
Mr Johnson said that to assist the ‘emergency operation’ 50 military planning experts will be deployed across every region and NHS staff will be reprioritised to deliver as many jabs as possible.
A number of new sites for vaccinations will open across the country. These sites include mobile pop ups. The clinic hours will be expanded to allow more visits on weekends, evenings, or early mornings.
The effort will also receive a nationwide call for help from thousands of NHS volunteers.
Mr Johnson urged: ‘If you haven’t yet had a vaccine at all, then please get yourself at least some protection with a jab as quickly as possible.
‘If you’ve already had your booster, encourage your friends and family to do the same. Our country is great. We are able to provide vaccines for our citizens. So let’s do it. Let’s Get Boosted Now.
Long lines formed outside vaccine centres all across the country this weekend. This included outside Stockport’s Merseyway Centre and London’s Wandsworth walk-in centers.
Ministers feel boosters will be the most effective way to deal with the Omicron variant’s threat.
Last week, data from the UK Health Security Agency revealed that people can catch the mutation even if they have received two doses of the Covid vaccine.
A third dose provides more than 70% protection from symptomatic infections and prevents hospitalisation and even death.
Even a single dose, however, of the AstraZeneca vaccine or Pfizer vaccine may provide some protection from severe diseases.
Other developments from yesterday
UK saw 48,854 Covid cases increase and 52 deaths. The last week saw the confirmation of 360,480 new cases, an 11.9% increase over the seven previous days. This week there were 834 cases of death, which is an increase by 0.5 percent.
Contacts of Covid-19 who are double-jabbed will be asked to complete a daily rapid testing for Covid-19 within seven days.
:: Backbench protest against Plan B continued to grow. More than 60 Tories are expected to resist the restrictions in a Commons battle on Tuesday.
Experts question a May report of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which suggested that England might suffer up to 75,000 deaths due to the Omicron variant.
The Covid alert level was raised last night after an increase in Omicron case numbers.
The UK’s four chief medical officers and NHS England’s national medical director recommended to ministers that the country move from Level 3 to Level 4.
Level 4 means ‘transmission is high and direct Covid-19 pressure on healthcare services is widespread and substantial or rising’.
The health chiefs said that the emergence of the Omicron variants adds ‘additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and healthcare services’.
In a joint statement, they added: ‘Early evidence shows that Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron is reduced.
‘Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalisations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly.’
Official statistics showed that another 1,239 Omicron case had been confirmed, the highest daily rate to date. This brings the total of confirmed Omicron cases up to 3,137.
Yesterday Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, confirmed that ‘a small number of people’ were now in hospital in Britain with Omicron.
Officials refused to disclose the exact number and severity of these cases.
Dr Hopkins said: ‘We have had reports of a small number of people going to hospital who have tested positive with the Omicron variant, we are investigating them carefully and will update in due course.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said last night: ‘It’s more important than ever to get Britain boosted to protect our NHS and save lives.
‘The arrival of the worrying new variant is a reminder that the pandemic is not over. And vaccines are the best weapon in our fight.’