New Covid checks: UK govt works on Plan B to control Omicron variant

Highlights

• Following the emergence of new Omicron variant, the UK government will reintroduce the new COVID measures in England from Friday.
• The Boris Johnson government has announced a Plan B set out when restrictions were lifted over the summer.
• Travelers will now have to take pre-departure test a maximum of 48 hours before leaving, regardless of their vaccination status.

Following the emergence of new Omicron variant, the Boris Johnson government has announced new measures to prevent the spread. It has decided to reintroduce the new COVID measures in England and UK travel, which will come into force in various stages from Friday.

Researchers around the world are looking forward to know how contagious the new variant is and how well the existing vaccines can work on it. However, there is no clear understanding of the path forward.

The Boris Johnson government has already warned that the new variant is spreading faster than the Delta variant, and due to the festive season, it might spread faster in next two to three days.

What is Plan B?

To prevent the spread of the new Omicron variant, the Boris Johnson government has announced Plan B, which is the autumn and winter contingency plan set out when restrictions were lifted in summer.  The plan is only applicable in England for the time being.

© 2021 Kalkine Media®

The plan set out three mitigations: Wearing mask will be compulsory by law in most indoor settings, public transport and shops from 10 December, work for home wherever it is possible from 13 December, and from 15 December, certain venues and events need to check that all visitors over 18 got their two doses of Covid vaccines and have a NHS COVID Pass or negative test result in the last 48 hours. 

There are some exemptions for wearing a face mask in hospitality settings such as restaurants, cafes, and pubs, as well as in other night-time venues, photography studios and gyms & exercise facilities. The NHS pass or negative covid result will be compulsory for nightclubs or other crowded places such as for all the unseated indoor venues with a capacity of 500 or over, unseated outdoor venues with capacity of 4,000 or over and any venue with capacity of 10,000 or over.

Also read: Crude oil edges higher as Omicron fear wanes

Travel Restrictions

Tourists coming to UK will now have to take pre-departure test a maximum of 48 hours before leaving, regardless of their vaccination status and Britons are not allowed to travel to the countries on the red list. If any person has a positive result then he or she will not be permitted to travel.

Currently, there are around 261 confirmed omicron cases in England, four in Wales and 71 in Scotland, and these cases have no link with international travel, which confirm that there is now community transmission.

Vaccination

All the adults in UK need to get at least two doses of the vaccine to maintain a high level of protection against the new variant. According to recent UKHSA report, around 1 in 5 people who are fully vaccinated are still vulnerable to get infected.  If a person develops symptoms they need to self isolate themselves immediately for 10 days and get a PCR test, regardless if they are vaccinated.

You are exempted from self-isolation if you are aged below 18, or not able to get vaccinated due to medical reasons.

Also read: Global hospitality businesses stare at losses as Omicron fears endure

Will the Plan B work?

Researchers and scientist are still not clear about how fast the new variant may spread and how well present vaccination can protect against the new virus. Cases in December will help in deciding whether the restrictions should be continued in January.

Restrictions in other parts

People in Scotland are already working from home and wearing mask coverings in public places. In Wales, people are asked to work from home, if possible, wear masks and have to show NHS Covid pass in public venues. They are also asked to take test and self-isolate if they have any symptoms. 

In Northern Ireland, anyone with covid symptoms have been asked to self-isolate for 10 days and take a PCR test. Further, hospitality venue operators have been asked to collect NHS pass or covid report of their customers.

Also read: Can Omicron cause more damage than other COVID-19 variants? the latest findings