UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured) tightened pandemic rules to curb the spread of the Omicron variant, advising people to work from home and mandating use of vaccine passports in large venues.

       “It’s become increasingly clear that Omicron is growing much faster than the previous Delta variant,” Johnson said at a televised press conference on Wednesday, announcing the measures for England. It’s the “proportionate and responsible thing to do to move to Plan B,” he said.

       The prime minister ruled out following other countries in making vaccinations mandatory, even though the number of Omicron cases in Britain nearly doubled in one day after 249 cases were confirmed on Thursday, bringing the UK total to 817.

       $2-billion hit

       Bloomberg Economics estimates show the new curbs could cost the economy as much as 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) a month.The impact of the so-called Plan B to contain Covid will likely hit spending on retail and hospitality as offices empty and customers avoid shops.

       Rule plea

       Speaking alongside Johnson, England Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty urged people to look beyond the Downing Street controversy and abide by the new measures to prevent the spread of omicron.

       “We know that we’re going early now, so as to slow this down at an early stage of events,” Whitty said. “If it’s laid out to people in a way that is reasonable, irrespective of other things, people want to know the logic of why they’re doing it, and we’re trying to do that.”

       Neil Ferguson, a government scientific advisor whose modeling led to the first lockdown, said that the incidence of Omicron is doubling every two to three days in Britain, meaning it will likely become the dominant variant before Christmas.

       Fearing blow, UK firms call for aid

       UK business groups called for government support after PM Johnson announced curbs. Business groups said the measures would deal a blow to the UK’s fragile economic recovery from lockdowns.