Christmas parties are under threat after new head of NHS Test and Trace today warned Britons not to socialise before the holidays 'unless you need toIt comes after Health Minister Gillian Keegan today insisted it is better for the UK to 'overreact than underreact' to the new Omicron coronavirus variant after Joe Biden told the US the mutant strain is 'not a cause for panic'.
Ms Keegan said ministers are trying to strike the right 'balance' in the response but she admitted it is a difficult judgment to make because there are many 'unknowns' associated with the variant.
All travellers returning to the UK must now take a PCR test on or before day two after their arrival. They can leave isolation once they have a negative test result.
Close contacts of Omicron cases must isolate at home for ten days regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not, prompting fears of another 'pingdemic'.
Ms Keegan insisted 'Christmas is on track' amid fears the Omicron variant could result in more people having to self-isolate over the festive period.
Last night US President Mr Biden said that 'this variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic'.
His comments prompted scrutiny of the UK's response, which has seen ministers roll out three main curbs to buy scientists some time as they race to analyse the new variant and assess how effective existing vaccines will be against it.
Ms Keegan was asked during an interview on Sky News if the UK is in danger of overreacting.
She replied: 'We are trying to get that balance and proportion and it is difficult because it is unknown so we need to buy some time so our scientists can work with the world's leading scientists to just basically figure out, we know it is very transmissible by looking, but we don't know whether it'll work with the vaccine, the vaccine will work, or the other treatments etc.
'So the scientists do need some time for that. We think we have got the balance and the proportional response to it.
'But we will review it in three weeks, that will give the scientists enough time to hopefully give us some insights then.'
Told that it could subsequently become apparent that the UK has overreacted, Ms Keegan said: 'I would rather overreact than underreact at this point.
'I think we have been here so many times that, you know, we have got this fantastic wall of vaccine now, we want to keep that, we want to strengthen it.
'We would rather be stronger to be able to face any new variants and I think we have all the things, all the capability to do that, so that is what we would rather do.'
The new self-isolation rules for people identified as a close contact of an Omicron case has sparked concerns of a potential 'pingdemic' at Christmas, should the variant surge in the UK in the coming weeks. Told that the restrictions could result in more people being unable to see their family over the Christmas period, Ms Keegan said: 'Obviously you could be self-isolating over Christmas. You could be. But what we are hoping is we keep these cases, obviously everybody is going to be contacted, people will start the isolation.
'With or without this you could be isolating for Christmas, with another variant.
'Of course Christmas is on track. What everyone wants for Christmas is if you haven't had your first jab, come and get it, if you haven't had your second jab, come and get it, and if you haven't had your booster, come and get it when you are asked.'
Ms Keegan said that Christmas will 'hopefully not' be ruined, adding: 'Let's be proportional and balanced as we are trying to be, we have got five cases today, that will go up I am pretty sure, but what we are trying to do is really clampdown on that as much as possible.'
Asked about the prospect of Christmas plans being called off, Professor Paul Moss, from the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy at the University of Birmingham and SAGE member, told Sky News: 'I don't think we need to worry too much about that at this stage... the measures that we got in place have a good chance of gaining some control here.
'The two ways that we're adopting to try and control this are: one, in behavioural change to reduce transmission: the travel restrictions; more lateral flows; masking.
'And the second big factor is the immunity and we know that we may lose some immunity with this virus. So what is happening is we are boosting our immune levels to super-high levels with the plans that were introduced yesterday, and that should retain some protection.
'What we've seen with Covid is that things change very rapidly. And I think we need at least three weeks to assess this.
'We need excellent epidemiology and within the laboratory people are testing the resistance of the virus against vaccinated samples. So we will need that sort of time. And we will know a lot more before Christmas.'
He added: 'You probably saw that the doctor in South Africa who initially identified it had seen relatively mild cases, which is very encouraging. However, you know, that's a much younger population.
'It's the elderly population, we need to worry about - in South Africa only six per cent are above 65 years whereas we've got a much higher proportion.'
Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said that the UK had to 'act immediately and not wait' after the discovery of the Omicron variant.
He told BBC Breakfast: 'The main question is whether it's able to evade the immunity that we've got to some extent from the vaccine so far and the infections we've all had.
'And so because of that, and because of the possibility of a major wave, the thing to do now is to act immediately and not wait.'
Tube mask crackdown begins: Enforcement officers order commuters to wear face coverings with TfL warning anyone who refuses WILL face £200 fine as retail bosses say staff WON'T be expected to police new rules
By JACK WRIGHT AND VIVEK CHAUDHARY AND DAVID PILDITCH FOR MAILONLINE
New Covid restrictions in England in force today
New restrictions on compulsory facemasks, testing and travel in England were published last night and came into force at 4am this morning.
FACEMASKS
From today, people must wear facemasks in the following places:
- Public transport;
- Retail shops;
- Beauty salons;
- Hairdressers;
- Banks;
- Post offices;
- Takeaways;
- Estate agents;
- Veterinary clinics;
- Taxis;
- Driving instruction cars.
Those caught flouting the restrictions will be fined £200 for a first offence, which will double on each subsequent offence up to a maximum of £6,400.
Schoolchildren are being asked to wear facemasks in communal areas but not classrooms. Teaching unions have called for masks to be extended to lessons.
TRAVEL
All travellers returning to the UK must take a PCR test and self-isolate for 10 days until they receive a negative result.
Anyone who breaks the self-isolation law without a 'reasonable excuse' faces a fine of £1,000, rising to £10,000 for repeat offenders and serious breaches.
A number of countries in Africa were added to the UK's red list last week. They are:
- Angola;
- Botswana;
- Eswatini;
- Lesotho;
- Malawi;
- Mozambique;
- Namibia;
- South Africa;
- Zambia;
- Zimbabwe.
SELF-ISOLATION
All contacts of anybody who tests positive for the so-called 'Omicron' variant must self-isolate – regardless of their age or vaccination status.
This has sparked fears of a return to the 'pingdemic madness' of the summer, when a million healthy pupils were forced to stay home because of the Test and Trace system.
Anyone who breaks the self-isolation law without a 'reasonable excuse' faces a fine of £1,000, rising to £10,000 for repeat offenders and serious breaches. The crackdown on mask-flouters in London began today as Tube officials threatened to fine non-compliant commuters £200 if they refuse to cover their faces.
Under Covid restrictions which came into force at 4am this morning, facemasks are again compulsory on public transport, in shops and settings such as banks, post offices and hairdressers in England.
Those caught flouting the restrictions will be fined £200 for a first offence, which will double on each subsequent offence up to a maximum of £6,400.
Although many commuters in London wore facemasks on their way to work this morning, many others on packed carriages chose to ignore the law.
Some Transport for London officials were seen rebuking mask-flouters and urging them to cover up as they warned that they would be fined if they were caught breaking the restriction again.
Writing on Twitter, TfL said: 'You must wear a face covering on all our services unless exempt. Our officers will continue enforcing the requirement, including reintroduction of powers for TfL and police to issue £200 fines for first offence.'
Scenes of non-compliance had sparked calls for tougher enforcement of the rules, as Unite's national officer for passenger transport Bobby Morton said 'people are not going to wear masks now just because Boris Johnson says it's the right thing to do'.
The Mayor of London also told people to wear facemasks on public transport, and called on the Prime Minister to keep the restriction in place possibly past December 21 – when the new rules will be reviewed – in case the new Covid variant is worse than feared.
However, passengers at London Bridge Station insisted that offenders were not being challenged by police or enforcement officers.
Mark Briggs, 53, who works as a facilities manager, said: 'I didn't see much difference today. There are still a lot of people who are not wearing masks.
'I would say about 60 per cent of people have been covering their faces. I come in about three days a the week and it has been like that for a while. I didn't see anyone enforcing it. I have never seen that. It is mentioned on the tannoys but that is it.
'I prefer to get an earlier train like I did today because it is quieter. I have seen some people say, ''Please don't sit next to me unless you have got a mask on''. I thought he was right. It is a bit embarrassing when that happens and most people just keep their head down rather than make a fuss.'
And retail leaders said businesses are refusing to enforce the rules because they fear that their staff will be accosted by customers. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, stressed that it is the role of the authorities to enforce these new regulations, adding that customers also have responsibility to adhere to the rules.
'Retailers will be communicating the new rules on face coverings in England through in-store signage and other channels,' she said.
'However, it is vital that we do not place hardworking retail staff in harm's way, and enforcement of face coverings must remain the duty of the authorities. Furthermore, we all have an individual responsibility to put on a face covering before entering a shop.'
It is the latest challenge for retailers ahead of a key Christmas period. They have already seen pressure from supply chain disruption and labour shortages.
Meanwhile, Richard Walker, managing director of the Iceland grocery chain, said he will not be asking staff to police the mask rules among customers.
'The first thing to say is that of course we support the reintroduction of compulsory face masks in shops and there is no doubt that the emergence of this Omicron variant is really concerning,' he told Radio 4's Today programme.
'Safety of staff and customers is of course a priority. But the question isn't whether or not we should mandate facemasks, but whether we can mandate them. What I won't be doing is asking my store colleagues to police those who refuse to adhere to the rules. They are already working under significant pressure, particularly as we hit the busiest trading month of the year.'
The Unite trade union also called for facemasks to also become mandatory in pubs, cafes and restaurants after they were not included in the rule change.
Transport for London officials rebuked a commuter at Victoria Station in London for not wearing a facemask
One commuter is seen not wearing a facemask on the Victoria Line as new restrictions come into force today
Writing on Twitter, TfL said: 'You must wear a face covering on all our services unless exempt. Our officers will continue enforcing the requirement, including reintroduction of powers for TfL and police to issue £200 fines for first offence'
Hundreds of commuters, some not wearing masks, disembarked trains at London's Kings Cross Station today
While it was business as usual for most passengers, the response led to some anger among early morning travellers in London. Cafe worker Vicky Briant, 23, said: 'People need to take responsibility not just for themselves but for everyone. There are not enough people wearing masks which is irresponsible. The last thing we want is to cancel Christmas again.'
Builder Sam Walters, 46, said: 'Trains and buses have been packed this morning and it seems too many people have got out of the habit of covering their faces even though they were always supposed to in London. It's crazy.'
But outside Canada Water station in south east London, office worker Grace Thompson, 54, said: 'Face coverings don't work so it is just another pointless gesture. I've had friends who caught the virus even though they never left home without one. I've had two jabs and I am getting a booster this week so I am not concerned about the virus.'
According to the Office for National Statistics, 85 per cent of adults said they had worn a facemask outside their home in the past seven days, with 70 per cent saying they wore one often or always while shopping.
However, just 18 per cent of people shopping said that everyone or almost everyone they saw was wearing a face covering.
Downing Street insisted that the new measures coming into effect today are 'temporary and precautionary' and will stay in place initially until December 21 – though Whitehall sources last night acknowledged they were likely to continue into the New Year.
MPs will vote on the regulations tonight, with ministers braced for a rebellion by Tory MPs deeply unhappy at the prospect of a return of controls. But with Labour backing the measures, there is expected to be little chance of a Government defeat.
South Africa province where the Omicron Covid variant was first detected sees 330% surge in hospitalisations in the past two weeks
By MANSUR SHAHEEN, U.S. DEPUTY HEALTH EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
The South African province where the Omicron Covid variant was first detected has suffered a more than 300 percent increase in virus related hospitalisations this week.
Gauteng, which includes the city of Johannesburg, recorded 580 hospitalisations because of the virus this week, per official data — a 330 percent jump from 135 two weeks ago.
Just under 40 percent of the provinces 12million residents have received at least one shot of a Covid vaccine - third-lowest of the nation's 12 provinces.
Last week, the new Omicron variant was sequenced in 77 cases in the region, and many fear it is the most infectious strain of the virus yet and that it could evade vaccine protection because of its high number of mutations.
While South African health officials have reported that cases of the variant are often mild, the increase in hospitalisations in the province seems to hint otherwise.
Over the past two weeks, Covid related hospitalizations in the Gauteng province of South Africa have jumped 330% - from 135 in the week that ended on November 7 (week 45) to 580 last week (week 47). Gauteng is the province where the Omicron variant was first sequenced
Despite the local surge in hospitalizations, South African officials insist that cases of the Omicron variant are generally mild compared to other strains. Pictured: A man suffers from a Covid infection in Cape Town, South Africa on December 29, 2020Gauteng is the largest province in the country by population, as it is home to more than 12 million people.
After a Covid surge around three months ago, the province has experienced decreasing hospitalizations from the virus for weeks.
During the week that ended on November 7, 120 Covid related hospitalizations were detected.
Last week, that figure doubled to 276, before jumping to 580 last week.
Because genetic sequencing is only performed on a small percentage of positive tests, experts can not say which people have Omicron versus another strain.
South African officials have said that cases of this new strain are relatively minor, though, to such an extent that it surprised them.
'Their symptoms were so different and so mild from those I had treated before,' said Dr Angelique Coetzee, a South African Medical Association board member, told The Telegraph.
'It presents mild disease with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two not feeling well
'So far, we have detected that those infected do not suffer the loss of taste or smell. They might have a slight cough. There are no prominent symptoms. Of those infected some are currently being treated at home.'Joe Phaahla, South Africa's health minister, has blamed the recent uptick in cases the nation has experienced on the highly infectious variant, though.
Over the past nine days, cases have increased nine-fold from around 500 per day on November 20 to 4,500 per day this week.
This surge in cases also corresponds with the surge in hospitalizations the nation has suffered in recent weeks.
One thing to note is that some of the 77 cases found by health officials last week were among vaccinated people - causing the alarm.
Vaccinated people generally have a lower risk of severe Covid infection than their unvaccinated peers, which could have resulted in the more mild cases.
Gauteng as a whole, though, has a vaccination rate of only 38 percent as of Monday morning, a low enough number that the province is vulnerable to surges of the virus.
Gauteng has one of the lowest vaccination rates among the 12 South African provinces, with only 38% of the population having received the shots as of Monday morning. It is the nation's most populous province
In response to the discovery of the new Covid variant, President Biden suspended travel from South Africa - and six of its neighbors - to the the U.S.
Many European nations, like the UK, have banned incoming flights from nations in the southern portion of the continent as well.
The move has been met with criticism from some health officials.
'Travel restrictions may play a role in slightly reducing the spread of Covid but place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods,' Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization's regional director for Africa, said in a statement.
'If restrictions are implemented, they should not be unnecessarily invasive or intrusive, and should be scientifically based, according to the International Health Regulations, which is a legally binding instrument of international law recognized by over 190 nations.
'...The speed and transparency of the South African and Botswana governments in informing the world of the new variant is to be commended.'
'WHO stands with African countries which had the courage to boldly share life-saving public health information, helping protect the world against the spread of Covid.'
Despite widespread travel restrictions, the variant has managed to find its way around the world anyways.The UK has joined many European countries like Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the UK and Portugal in finding cases of the variant over the past few days.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said Monday morning that it is likely too late to prevent the spread of the variant, and it probably has found its way into countries like the U.S. by now - it just has not yet been sequenced.
Not much is yet known about the variant, but what experts do know has them terrified.
The variant has over 50 mutations, with 30 being on the spike protein, more than any other detected Covid variant.
Because available vaccines for Covid target the spike protein, these types of mutations could make the variant vaccine resistant.
Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson - producers of the available vaccines in the U.S. - have all announced that they will either update their existing vaccine or release a stand along Omicron vaccine if needed.
BioNTech believes they will be able to determine the variant's ability to evade the vaccines within the next two weeks.
So far, the variant has yet to reach America, and Dr Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious disease expert, said he does not believe lockdowns are necessary.
The Omicron variant may spell the end of the Covid pandemic. So, asks Professor ANGUS DALGLEISH, why is it being treated like Ebola?
As I listened to ministers react nervously in recent days to the new Omicron Covid variant, I began to experience an all-too-familiar sinking feeling.
Shall I put it into words? Here we go again, I thought.
Mask mandates have been reimposed in shops, schools and hairdressers, and new swingeing £200 fines will be levied on those who dare to break the rules.
Meanwhile, the inevitable chorus of gloomy voices has begun to sing again: that unholy alliance of scientific 'experts' who have been given blanket coverage by the BBC and Left-wing media so often during this pandemic.
The Government has used these voices as justification to impose fresh restrictions on our lives — as well as to threaten more in future.
The Government has used an unholy alliance of scientific 'experts' who have been given blanket coverage by the BBC and Left-wing media as justification to impose fresh restrictions on our lives — as well as to threaten more in future.
Mask mandates have been reimposed in shops, schools and hairdressers, and new swingeing £200 fines will be levied on those who dare to break the rules
Panicking
Right now, the key question is: are any of the new measures actually necessary?
Yes, there remains much we don't know about Omicron, but the early signs are distinctly encouraging. Many patients have reportedly recovered quickly from what have been very mild symptoms.
Southern Africa, where the variant emerged, has largely avoided panicking. One German epidemiologist, Professor Karl Lauterbach, who is running to be Germany's next health minister, has even said that a mild strain would be an 'early Christmas gift'.
Given all that, how much can the Government's hawkish approach truly be justified?
Very little, I would submit.
Many patients have reportedly recovered quickly from what have been very mild symptoms
The real danger for most of us now comes not from Omicron or any other coronavirus variant. Instead, it comes from ministers and officials apparently flirting with taking us into yet another era of ruinous restrictions, cancelling Christmas or other cherished holidays, dashing all hope of foreign travel, wrecking the economy and otherwise immiserating our lives at the whim of the state.
Yes, a new, heavily mutated coronavirus variant has been identified. But Professor Lauterbach, a highly respected clinical epidemiologist, suggested yesterday that the variant might even be good news. Why? Because its numerous mutations — twice as many as the Delta variant that swept the world this year — mean that though it may well be more infectious, it could also be less deadly.
In layman's terms, this means that more people might catch it, but not suffer serious illness. And that is a good thing — certainly compared to a very infectious, very virulent virus with the capacity to sicken or kill large numbers of people.
Anyone infected with a 'mild' Covid virus — one unlikely to cause serious disease — will still develop antibodies to guard against future infection. And the more people with such antibodies, the closer we are to the fabled 'herd immunity'.
This, coupled with the help of our highly successful vaccination programme, could even spell the eventual end of the pandemic — though not, it must be said, the end of Covid.
This is the sort of grown-up discussion ministers should be having with us. Instead, by announcing new restrictions over the weekend, flanked by his two familiar harbingers of doom, Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the Prime Minister risked terrifying large swathes of the nation all over again — just as they were beginning to catch their breath as the worst of the pandemic was lifting.
Anyone infected with a 'mild' Covid virus — one unlikely to cause serious disease — will still develop antibodies to guard against future infection
Coronavirus restrictions, it should not need pointing out, do not work in isolation.
A year ago, I wrote in the Mail how I believed that lockdown was a killer in the making far worse than Covid-19. Today, I stand by that view.
From spiralling hospital waiting lists and delayed cancer treatment to the horrendous impact on the mental health of the nation, I think we are seeing the tip of an iceberg of premature deaths from causes other than Covid — and that, in time, history will reveal the second and third lockdowns, at least, for the folly I believe them to be. That is before you contemplate the ramifications of our sabotaged economy: livelihoods destroyed by the enforced shutdown of businesses and High Street firms shuttered thanks to working-from-home mandates.The UK has joined many European countries like Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the UK and Portugal in finding cases of the variant over the past few days.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said Monday morning that it is likely too late to prevent the spread of the variant, and it probably has found its way into countries like the U.S. by now - it just has not yet been sequenced.
Not much is yet known about the variant, but what experts do know has them terrified.
The variant has over 50 mutations, with 30 being on the spike protein, more than any other detected Covid variant.
Because available vaccines for Covid target the spike protein, these types of mutations could make the variant vaccine resistant.
Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson - producers of the available vaccines in the U.S. - have all announced that they will either update their existing vaccine or release a stand along Omicron vaccine if needed.
BioNTech believes they will be able to determine the variant's ability to evade the vaccines within the next two weeks.
So far, the variant has yet to reach America, and Dr Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious disease expert, said he does not believe lockdowns are necessary.
The Omicron variant may spell the end of the Covid pandemic. So, asks Professor ANGUS DALGLEISH, why is it being treated like Ebola?
As I listened to ministers react nervously in recent days to the new Omicron Covid variant, I began to experience an all-too-familiar sinking feeling.
Shall I put it into words? Here we go again, I thought.
Mask mandates have been reimposed in shops, schools and hairdressers, and new swingeing £200 fines will be levied on those who dare to break the rules.
Meanwhile, the inevitable chorus of gloomy voices has begun to sing again: that unholy alliance of scientific 'experts' who have been given blanket coverage by the BBC and Left-wing media so often during this pandemic.
The Government has used these voices as justification to impose fresh restrictions on our lives — as well as to threaten more in future.
The Government has used an unholy alliance of scientific 'experts' who have been given blanket coverage by the BBC and Left-wing media as justification to impose fresh restrictions on our lives — as well as to threaten more in future.
Mask mandates have been reimposed in shops, schools and hairdressers, and new swingeing £200 fines will be levied on those who dare to break the rules
Panicking
Right now, the key question is: are any of the new measures actually necessary?
Yes, there remains much we don't know about Omicron, but the early signs are distinctly encouraging. Many patients have reportedly recovered quickly from what have been very mild symptoms.
Southern Africa, where the variant emerged, has largely avoided panicking. One German epidemiologist, Professor Karl Lauterbach, who is running to be Germany's next health minister, has even said that a mild strain would be an 'early Christmas gift'.
Given all that, how much can the Government's hawkish approach truly be justified?
Very little, I would submit.
Many patients have reportedly recovered quickly from what have been very mild symptoms
The real danger for most of us now comes not from Omicron or any other coronavirus variant. Instead, it comes from ministers and officials apparently flirting with taking us into yet another era of ruinous restrictions, cancelling Christmas or other cherished holidays, dashing all hope of foreign travel, wrecking the economy and otherwise immiserating our lives at the whim of the state.
Yes, a new, heavily mutated coronavirus variant has been identified. But Professor Lauterbach, a highly respected clinical epidemiologist, suggested yesterday that the variant might even be good news. Why? Because its numerous mutations — twice as many as the Delta variant that swept the world this year — mean that though it may well be more infectious, it could also be less deadly.
In layman's terms, this means that more people might catch it, but not suffer serious illness. And that is a good thing — certainly compared to a very infectious, very virulent virus with the capacity to sicken or kill large numbers of people.
Anyone infected with a 'mild' Covid virus — one unlikely to cause serious disease — will still develop antibodies to guard against future infection. And the more people with such antibodies, the closer we are to the fabled 'herd immunity'.
This, coupled with the help of our highly successful vaccination programme, could even spell the eventual end of the pandemic — though not, it must be said, the end of Covid.
This is the sort of grown-up discussion ministers should be having with us. Instead, by announcing new restrictions over the weekend, flanked by his two familiar harbingers of doom, Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the Prime Minister risked terrifying large swathes of the nation all over again — just as they were beginning to catch their breath as the worst of the pandemic was lifting.
Anyone infected with a 'mild' Covid virus — one unlikely to cause serious disease — will still develop antibodies to guard against future infection
Coronavirus restrictions, it should not need pointing out, do not work in isolation.
A year ago, I wrote in the Mail how I believed that lockdown was a killer in the making far worse than Covid-19. Today, I stand by that view.
From spiralling hospital waiting lists and delayed cancer treatment to the horrendous impact on the mental health of the nation, I think we are seeing the tip of an iceberg of premature deaths from causes other than Covid — and that, in time, history will reveal the second and third lockdowns, at least, for the folly I believe them to be. That is before you contemplate the ramifications of our sabotaged economy: livelihoods destroyed by the enforced shutdown of businesses and High Street firms shuttered thanks to working-from-home mandates.
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