UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has said that new measures are not necessary for now in Britain to fight the latest coronavirus Omicron variant, which in his words, is “plainly milder” than earlier forms of the coronavirus variant.
On Monday, speaking about new Covid measures, he said, “The way forward for the country as a whole is to continue with the path that we are on. Of course, we will keep all measures under review, but the mixture of things that we are doing at the moment is I think the right one.”
The Prime Minister has so far majorly resisted imposing new restrictions in England, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the UK population despite the surge in infection rates.
He went further to say that pressure on hospitals would be “considerable” in the next couple of weeks, but Omicron was “plainly milder” than previous variants, and the country was in a stronger position than it was earlier in the pandemic as Britain has a high vaccination rate and it was continuing to build up its defenses with the booster programme.
“The majority of people who are in ICU (intensive care) have not been vaccinated and the vast majority – about 90% – have not been boosted,” he said.
The UK Prime Minister, last month, imposed limited measures in England, known as “Plan B”, which included wearing face coverings on public transport and in shops, however, there was no order given on restrictions on gatherings or closing businesses.
The government has said that older school children in England would be required to wear face coverings when they return after the Christmas break.
However, neighbouring countries, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have taken steps to impose some new measures in a fight against the Omicron variant.
