After their leaders indicated that the current restrictions might not be sufficient to combat the Omicron variant, Scotland and Wales may face more severe Covid measures.
After Boris Johnson’s request for a quicker pace, Mark Drakeford & Nicola Sturgeon agreed last night to increase their booster jab campaigns.
They both opened the possibility of tighter restrictions in the coming weeks.
In addition to having Covid passports, mask orders and work from home measures, both Scotland and Wales also have these steps. These are only being implemented in England.
Last night Nicola Sturgeon confirmed plans to offer all adults a Covid booster by the end of the year, but added: ‘Given the expected volume of cases in the weeks ahead, however, it is also possible that further, proportionate protective measures or advice will be necessary.
‘This is true even if Omicron proves to be slightly less severe than Delta.
‘The number of cases will still put significant pressure on the NHS and the economy. The government will therefore consider the latest data tomorrow ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and I will set out any decisions to parliament later that day.’
This morning Sturgeon’s health minister Humza Yousaf said that new measures were ‘inevitable’.
In a separate announcement Mr Drakeford said: ‘The cabinet is closely monitoring this rapidly changing public health situation and has moved to a weekly review cycle.
‘We are facing a very serious situation and we may need to take further steps to keep Wales safe. I will continue to keep Wales updated.’
It came as Mr Johnson was told to urge people to cancel their Christmas parties to cut down on the risk of super-charging transmission of the new variant.

Nicola Sturgeon, who confirmed her plans to give all adults a Covid boost by the end the year, said: “Given that the anticipated volume of cases over the coming weeks, however, it’s also possible that additional, proportionate protective actions or advice will need to be taken.

A separate announcement was made by Mr Drakeford, which stated: “The cabinet closely monitors this rapidly changing public healthcare situation and has switched to a weekly review cycle.

Boris Johnson had demanded that booster jab campaigns be accelerated last night.
Stephen Reicher, a University of St Andrews professor of Psychology, said that the Government’s Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours, (SpiB), is currently in an environment where the new version in effect is approaching us like an express train.
We must do something, or else our society will be overrun and overwhelm the NHS.
There are many things that you can do. First, the obvious one is to reduce your social contact. This will help limit spread of infection.
Nobody wants to leave Christmas parties behind, nor do they want to be without friends and family.
“It’s kind of like Christmas dinner. You don’t want to eat too many Christmas breakfasts.
“And in the same spirit, we should think very seriously about who our contacts are. Are they really that important? Is it really important that we have them? Are we better off acting now to make sure the people we want are still available?
Mr Johnson has today come under fire for his Omicron-fighting pledge to dish out a million Covid booster jabs a day, with senior Tories and Labour questioning why the Government didn’t kick off the operation months earlier.
NHS bosses have also warned that scaling up the programme now will be ‘incredibly difficult’ and inevitably have ‘consequences’, with patients once again facing the threat of cancelled operations.
In a massively ambitious move last night, the Prime Minister brought forward the deadline to offer all over-18s a third jab by New Year’s Day as he warned the country: ‘There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.’
To achieve this goal, the Army will join thousands of volunteers and the clinic hours will be extended so that up to 20 million jabs can be given in the coming two-and-a half weeks.
In addition to 42 military planning teams in each region, more vaccine sites and mobile units will be available, as well an extension of clinic hours so that they are open seven days a semaine and the training of thousands of volunteer vaccinators.

Stephen Reicher, a University of St Andrews professor of Psychology, said that the Government’s Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours is currently in an era where “the new variant” is approaching us as if it were a train.
But concerns about whether the Government could even hit the goal were raised almost immediately after Mr Johnson’s 8pm announcement last night. Even at the height of the NHS’s vaccine drive in March, the health service never managed more than 850,000 jabs a day.
GPs fumed they found out about the goal at the same time as the rest of the nation, and NHS bosses warned it would take ‘time’ to get the scaled up programme ‘fully up and running’.
David Davis, a former Cabinet minister, blasted government for not increasing booster drive funding in September. He said it was clear that Covid would get worse during winter months.
Jonathan Ashworth, Shadow Health Secretary, warned that the UK is already behind in implementing top-up jabs and that the “vaccine wall was falling apart”.
Another sign of the chaos was the crash of the NHS’s online ordering site. Thousands of desperately desperate Britons were able to log on to the site in an attempt to book their top-up shots.
Yesterday’s PM’s intervention comes amid increasing threats to January’s tighter restrictions. The potential for new locksdown should Omicron-related cases spiral out of control following the UK raising its Covid alert Level from Level 3 and Level 4
Scotland and Wales both have hinted at the possibility that they might need to do more to prevent the highly transmittable variant.
Yesterday the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant — an increase of 65 per cent in the past 24 hours. This was the largest daily increase and more than twice the number of cases previously reported. The total number now exceeding 3,000.
Sajid Javid (Health Secretary) said that the booster jabs had not been rolled out as early because it was a difficult decision. He also warned that elective appointments — such as hip replacements — were likely to be postponed as the NHS turns its resources to dishing out the top-up shots.
Last night’s speech by the PM called for people to “get boosted immediately”. He also stated that the UK was facing an emergency with its battle against the new variant and that it must strengthen its vaccine protection wall to ensure the safety of their loved ones.