Covid LIVE: 'Plan C' looms – Boris ready to unleash new rules on UK over Omicron surge LOCKDOWN looms as the lethal Omicron variant rips through the nation and Boris Johnson confirmed he could not rule out introducing tougher restrictions. By Rachel Hagan
12:41, Fri, Dec 10, 2021 | UPDATED: 12:45, Fri, Dec 10, 2021
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Boris Johnson grilled by Kuenssberg over new Covid measures
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Ministers are reportedly already working on ramping up restrictions and drafting "Plan C", which could be introduced in the New Year if cases do not fall. This could include mandatory face masks in hospitality settings and school classrooms, 10-day self-isolation for contacts of confirmed cases of all Covid variants and check-ins at venues including pubs and restaurants. There are now at least 568 "confirmed cases" of omicron in the UK since the variant was first detected, but experts predict the true number to be considerably higher.
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Ministers are reportedly already working on ramping up restrictions and drafting "Plan C" (Image: GETTY)
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KEY EVENTS 150 deaths a day in UK an ‘unacceptably high number’11:21 Omicron could spark Covid ‘pandemic 2.0’08:41 Care home visitors could be limited08:27
35 mins ago12:41 Rachel Hagan
Nicola Sturgeon issues stark Covid warning as R-rate close to 3
Nicola Sturgeon warned Scotland could now be on track of facing a "tsunami of infections" because of the new Omicron variant.
She predicts Omicron to become the dominant strain of coronavirus in Scotland within days.
She said: "The fact is that we do face a renewed and a very severe challenge in the face of the new Omicron variant.
To be blunt, because of the much greater and faster transmissibility of this new variant, we may be facing – indeed we may be starting to experience, a potential tsunami of infections."
Read more here
1 hour ago12:15 Rachel Hagan
Downing Street is 'trying to get the balance right between not shutting the economy down'
Small business minister Paul Scully told BBC Breakfast the next few weeks are going to be a "bit tough", but they're listening to businesses and trying to work with them to see exactly what how they are coping and what it is like on the ground on a day-to-day basis.
He admitted the new regulations may be "difficult to enforce" and said Downing Street is "trying to get the balance right between not shutting the economy down" and protecting against coronavirus.
2 hours ago11:21 Rachel Hagan
150 deaths a day in UK an ‘unacceptably high number’
Professor Peter Openshaw of Imperial College London who’s also Vice Chair of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, spoke on Channel 4 news about the new Omicron variant.
He questioned whether "Plan B" was stringent enough to keep this "really highly infectious variant under control."
Mr Openshaw also emphasised that we've only seen this variant "play itself out over a matter of a few days" and many people don't get seriously ill until the second or third week. He said it is too early to say how serious it is going to get once it's replicating "at high levels on our own shores."
He said the narrative around it being a mild, and not deadly, variant is wrong as it is far too early to make any conclusions. He said: "we need a lot more information about the way in which it presents clinically and we need to see what happens as the disease develops."
He continued: "the rate of deaths is really very, very high number indeed and if you compare it with influenza, this is also a very, very high death rate that we at the moment seem to be tolerating. Many of us would much prefer that rate to be very much lower."
2 hours ago11:14 Rachel Hagan
People in Wales urged to take lateral flow tests before going out
First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford has urged people to take regular lateral flow tests before going out to help protect others and keep Omicron at bay, in the run-up to Christmas.
He also reminded everyone on the importance of vaccines, with each one being "a small victory against the virus."
Mr Drakeford said: "The emergence of the Omicron variant is another worrying development in this long-running pandemic. We are concerned about the speed it is moving and its potential to infect large numbers of people."
3 hours ago10:44 Rachel Hagan
Chief whip insists Boris Johnson did not lie about the alleged Christmas party
Chief whip Mark Spencer has insisted Boris Johnson "will not have lied about any parties" in Downing Street that would have broken coronavirus rules.
He told BBC Radio Nottinghamshire that he is assured everyone in "that building" played by the rules, hence the Prime Minister asking the Cabinet Secretary to do a thorough investigation "to find out and establish the facts."
Mr Spencer said he did not go to any parties in No 10 and explained how the Prime Minister may not have been aware of what was happening elsewhere in the building.
He said: "When you describe it as a house, it's a department of government, this is a huge, huge building, literally with hundreds and hundreds of offices and rooms. No single person could account for what's happening in those buildings - they are huge buildings,."
Mr Spencer said they were "not drinking alcohol and having parties" while Covid patients were dying in hospitals.
4 hours ago09:26 Rachel Hagan
Brits determined to enjoy Christmas despite Omicron
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said people should "get their loved ones around them" despite the rapid rise of Omicron across the nation.
Speaking on BBC's Andrew Marr show he said it is going to be a "great Christmas" and confirmed he will be seeing elderly relatives.
Speaking to Express.co.uk Chris Smith, Fund Manager of UK Growth at Jupiter Asset Management, mirrored Mr Raab's sentiments. He pointed towards the latest real-time credit and debit card data which is showing "strong levels of spending since the Omicron variant was discovered." Mr Smith says this indicates households are determined to enjoy Christmas.
Mr Smith is also positive that the overall economic impact to the UK economy from Omicron is likely to be "limited."
He said: "Each subsequent wave of Covid-19 has caused less damage than the last, as businesses and the population have become quick to adapt at scale and at speed during the pandemic."
He caveated that with the condition that if Omicron outgrows previous variants and stricter restrictions are bought in, that is where we may see an economic impact.
Mr Smith said the "pingdemic" in July contributed to "a large swing in GDP growth month-on-month in June to July. Something similar in December is possible if more significant restrictions are required in the coming weeks."
4 hours ago08:59 Rachel Hagan
Football clubs told to group players together based on vaccination status
Recommendations have been sent out to Premier League and English Football League (EFL) clubs, around the dangers of hosting Christmas parties, an insistence on masks and social distancing being re-imposed and treatment times being limited to 15 minutes.
The EFL even suggests that clubs should group players dependent on their Covid status – whether they have received a booster jab, are double-vaccinated, unvaccinated or have contracted coronavirus in the past.
They further recommended that goalkeepers should not train together to avoid being close contacts. All of the measures are as a means of "trying to avoid decimating squad numbers", says the EFL.
Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton on Sunday has been postponed after a large Covid outbreak which also called off the Europa Conference League tie at home to Rennes.
The Foxes also have Covid cases within their team.
5 hours ago08:41 Rachel Hagan
Omicron could spark Covid ‘pandemic 2.0’
A top US scientist has called the Omicron variant the "Frankenstein" and has warned it could spark a Covid "pandemic 2.0" if the world stays in denial.
Dr Eric Feigl-Ding, a senior fellow with the Federation of American Scientists, says given the initial reports on the new variant’s greater transmissibility we should be concerned.
Taking to Twitter Mr Feigl-Ding said: "I have this sinking feeling that we’re in the denial phase of a pandemic 2.0. I think people are just like too blasé, too laid back about Omicron."
5 hours ago08:27 Rachel Hagan
Care home visitors could be limited
Families may be facing heartbreaking decisions at Christmas as The Telegraph has revealed that care home residents could be banned from seeing more than three visitors.
Current guidelines do not restrict family and friends visiting their loved ones, homes are just expected "to facilitate visits wherever possible and to do so in a risk-managed way".
But this could soon change, under plans which have been criticised by campaign groups as "devastating" and may force people to choose of who can see loved ones for what may be their last Christmas.
A government source said the limit of three visitors is "very likely."
The Department of Health and Social Care did not deny that plans were being considered but did not comment further.
6 hours ago07:27 Rachel Hagan
Good morning
Good morning from London. I’m Rachel Hagan, I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments on Coronavirus. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Your thoughts are always welcome.
Email: rachel.hagan@reachplc.com
Twitter: @rachelhagan_