Omicron variant: Expert calls for mask wearing in enclosed spaces

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There have been eight cases of Omicron variant in the UK so far – with six found in Scotland, one in Essex and one in Nottinghamshire sparking concerns. Health secretary Sajid Javid unveiled new restrictions in an announcement over the weekend, with countries on the UK’s travel “red list” and new mask mandates. He will follow up with another today, touching on how the country will function as Christmas approaches.

When is the Covid announcement today?

In total there have been eight cases of the Omicron variant detected on British soil – with another case no longer in the UK but found to have travelled to central London.

The original two cases were found in Essex and Nottinghamshire, while today six have been declared in Scotland – four in Lanarkshire and two in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

These cases have scared Government ministers into rapid action.

Mr Javid has reintroduced mask mandates that defined the early pandemic, requiring people to wear a face-covering while using public transport and shopping.

And health officials will approach positive Omicron cases with renewed vigilance.

Any close contacts of someone identified with the mysterious new variant will have to self isolate for 10 days.

The rules apply regardless of their vaccination status, as scientists fear it could escape antibodies cultivated by the two-shot Covid jab.

They come into force from Tuesday, November 30, and Mr Javid will appear in Parliament beforehand ahead of their implementation.

He will follow his weekend announcement alongside the Prime Minister with a Parliamentary address this evening.

He is due in the House of Commons from 3.30pm, following a meeting with G7 leaders.

The health secretary will sit in on a meeting convened to discuss measures against the new variant in London this afternoon.

Mr Javid will likely face questioning about actions the Government intends to take as the country approaches Christmas.

With the holiday just more than three weeks away, people fear ministers may introduce measures forcing families apart for a second year.

In 2020, a Covid surge forced the Government to implement restrictions limiting household mixing during the holidays.

But Mr Javid has insisted Britons won’t have to plan for this eventuality for another year.

He insisted people can look forward to a “great Christmas” this year, adding the country is “nowhere near” the full-scale lockdown of December 2020.

At present, the measures imposed by the health secretary have a brief time limit.

Health officials will review them in three weeks, a matter of days before Christmas.

Mr Javid said he was hopeful he could remove them during the upcoming consultation.

He told Sky News’ Trevor Philips on Sunday that it was “important” to “act in a proportionate way and also in a temporary way”.

He added: “I hope this is something that we can remove within weeks.”

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