DOMINIC Raab has insisted families CAN get together this Christmas despite an expert warning the Omicron variant is "spreading rapidly" in the UK.

As fears of a festive lockdown grow, the deputy prime minister has tried to reassure panicked Brits that the country is in a "more confident position" than last year as he urged people to go ahead with Christmas parties.

Speaking on BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Raab said people should "enjoy" gatherings and Christmas with their families and loved ones around them.

"It's going to be a great Christmas," he said.

"All the families, friends, loved ones are being able to get together in a way we haven't been able to do for a couple of years.

"Of course we'll continue to be vigilant about variants but the reality is we are in a much more confident position because of the vaccine, because of the boosters.

"People should enjoy Christmas, get their loved ones around them, and celebrate it in a way we haven't been able to in the past."

But a government science adviser has warned that the "highly transmissible" Omicron variant is "spreading pretty rapidly" in the UK.

Professor Mark Woolhouse, who is a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), told Andrew Marr: "The Omicron variant is highly transmissible, it appears to be spreading very rapidly in South Africa and the early signs are that it's spreading pretty rapidly in the UK too.

"If those trends continue then over the course of the coming weeks and months, Omicron could even come to replace Delta entirely right around the world.

"The Health Security Agency reported as of Friday over 100 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, right across the country but with concentrations likely in London and in Scotland."

He added: "The numbers are still quite small, so the absolute number of Omicron cases in the UK, I would strongly suspect, is more in the hundreds than the thousands.

"But the important point is that they're growing and they're growing quite fast."

Mr Raab's reassurance today echoed that of the Prime Minister's as he rejected calls for Christmas Covid curbs and urged Brits to carry on with festive fun.

Boris Johnson has insisted there is no need to cancel gatherings, family meet-ups or nativity plays over fears of the new variant.

He begged confused Brits not to panic as he sought to calm the chaos by saying of the tougher restrictions claims: “There’s no need for that at all. That’s not what we are saying.

“Please, we’ve got to take a balanced and proportionate approach to this. We want people to continue as they are.”

'RAPID TRANSMISSION'

Meanwhile, justice secretary Mr Raab has defended the Government's decision to re-introduce Covid pre-departure tests following the emergence of the Omicron variant

He told Sky News's Trevor Phillips On Sunday programme: "I know that is a burden for the travel industry but we have made huge, huge strides in this country.

"We have got to take the measures targeted forensically to stop the new variant seeding in this country to create a bigger problem.

"We have taken a balanced approach but we are always alert to extra risk that takes us back not forward."

It comes after health officials revealed more than half of the Omicron cases in England are among Brits who are double vaccinated.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned the mutant variant is “transmitting rapidly and successfully" after first being identified here a week ago.

Omicron cases have more than trebled, with 92 detected in the past 24 hours bringing the total number in the UK to 134.

'TOO LATE'

But Professor Woolhouse has said it is "too late" to make a "material difference" to a potential wave of Omicron cases.

Asked about the new travel rules, the Government adviser added: "I think that may be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

"If Omicron is here in the UK, and it certainly is, if there's community transmission in the UK, and it certainly looks that way, then it's that community transmission that will drive a next wave.

"The cases that are being imported are important, we want to detect those and isolate any positive cases we find, as we would for any case anywhere.

"But I think it's too late to make a material difference to the course of the Omicron wave if we're going to have one."

Meanwhile, it's reported first at-home Covid pill could be available by Christmas in a bid to combat the Omicron variant.

Sajid Javid is reportedly set to launch a national pilot of the "game changer" oral treatment – the Molnupiravir anti-viral pill, also known as Lagevrio – in the coming weeks.

Last month, the UK's drugs regulator declared the pills as "safe and effective" at slashing hospitalisations and deaths in people who have caught the killer bug, becoming the first country in the world to license its use – a move described as a "game-changer" by Mr Javid.

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