A new set of Covid-19 restrictions including orders to work from home and the introduction of vaccine passports are being considered in the UK to deal with rising cases and the spread of the Omicron variant.
Downing Street sources insisted “no decisions have been made” but there is widespread speculation that further measures could be imminent.
A prominent member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) warned that a full UK-wide lockdown to deal with the threat of the Omicron variant cannot be ruled out, although the current threat posed by the strain remains unclear.
Any move to impose fresh restrictions would be viewed with suspicion in Westminster at a time when UK prime minister Boris Johnson is under pressure over allegations No 10 staff breached lockdown rules by holding a Christmas party last December.
Footage emerged on Tuesday night of senior aides joking about the party just days after it reportedly occurred in the run-up to Christmas 2020 and Mr Johnson is braced for the issue to feature prominently at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The UK government has so far insisted it is not time to activate its Plan B – the restrictions that would be brought in to prevent the National Health Service (NHS) being overwhelmed this winter.
But Omicron may have changed those calculations in Downing Street, with Mr Johnson telling the UK cabinet on Tuesday that “early indications were that it was more transmissible” than the Delta strain.
Restrictions could play a role in slowing the spread of the variant in order to allow more time for the booster jab vaccination campaign to progress.
