Britons are sharing their fear of another Christmas under Covid lockdown, after Boris Johnson stated he was absolutely sure’ this year’s will be ‘considerably more successful than the previous’ as the country confronts the Omicron variant.
At a gloomy Downing Street press conference tonight, the Prime Minister announced a clampdown on travel, and plans to increase testing and facemask wearing to fight off the super-mutant virus.
Pressed by journalists, Johnson declined to rule out the possibility of a Christmas lockdown. He warned reporters that Omicron will “reduce the protections for our vaccines over many years”.
But in a bid to avoid panic over cancelling Christmas, he added: ‘I’m pretty confident… or absolutely confident, that this Christmas will be considerably better than the last one if that will do for the time being.’
Britons quickly took advantage of social media to respond to the PM’s remarks. Many said that he had “jinxed” any hopes for normal Christmas season.
Mark Foley stated: “Johnson said Christmas wasn’t cancelled… so Xmas must be cancelled.”
Linzi added: ‘That Downing Street Briefing about the #Omicron variant feels awfully familiar… merry f****** Christmas.’
Britons fear another Christmas in Covid lockdown. Boris Johnson, who claimed that he is ‘absolutely certain’ this year would be better than last, shared his fears with the rest of the nation.
Someone else joked Boris wasn’t optimistic about Christmas because the in-laws weren’t allowed to visit No10.
Many others pointed out Mr Johnson’s plans for tightening rules on mask-wearing on shops and transport. They shared photos of Johnson without masks on trains and with nurses from the NHS.
Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, stated that today two instances of this strain had been detected in Brentwood and Nottingham. They are both linked to possible travel to Southern Africa as the source of the mutation.
Following confirmation by the UK Health Security Agency, all infected people and members of their household were told to self isolate.
According to the Prime Minister, ‘We are not going stop people from travelling. I want to emphasize that. But, anyone entering the UK must take a PCR test within the first day of their arrival. They will also be required to isolate themselves until they get a negative result.
“Second we must slow down the spread this variant here within the UK. Since measures at the UK’s border are not able to stop the arrival of any new variant, they can reduce and delay it.
When reporters pressed Johnson, Johnson declined to rule out Christmas lockdowns. He warned that Omicron would’reduce our vaccines’ over the long-term.
“We will ask all contact of anyone who tests positive for Omicron to seperate themselves for 10 day regardless of their vaccination status. You will also be asked to take steps to stop the spread by tightening rules regarding face cover in shops, public transport and other places.
Today, Javid spoke to journalists and hinted that further restrictions might be reinstated. He said that the Government had ‘always made it very clear that they won’t hesitate in taking further action if necessary’.
The UK saw another 39.567 Covid cases today and 131 deaths. Department of Health officials posted nearly 40,000 daily infections – down 3.36 per cent from 40,941 last Saturday – while the number of people who have died 28 days after testing positive for Covid has also fallen by 12.7 per cent from 150 last week.
Canada, the USA, and the EU all followed Britain’s lead to place travel restrictions for visitors to southern Africa. This was before the WHO added the strain (also known as B.1.1.529) to the highest possible category of concerning variants.
Britain’s Omicron 2 infection was confirmed after a number of Omicron-infected people were reported in Europe. At least 61 Covid cases have been detected from South Africa. The new Omicron variant is currently being sequenced by authorities.
The UK recorded another 39,567 Covid deaths and an additional 39,567 Covid-positive cases today. Department of Health officials posted nearly 40,000 daily infections – down 3.36 per cent from 40,941 last Saturday – while the number of people who have died 28 days after testing positive for Covid has also fallen by 12.7 per cent from 150 last week
Omicron cases were already found in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong. The variant may have arrived in the Netherlands on yesterday, but it’s not known. However, Dutch authorities are currently sequencing the passengers’ DNA. It is also possible that individual cases may be being sequenced by authorities in Australia, Germany, and Czech Republic.