London, December 7 / BNA / The British Minister of Health said, today, Monday, that there is now community transmission of the Omicron variant of the Corona virus across regions of England, but it is too early to say whether this will “stop us on the way to recovery”.
Defending the introduction of stricter rules to slow the spread of the virus, Sajid Javid told parliament the government had “left nothing to chance” as scientists evaluated the alternative, which was first reported in South Africa last month, Reuters reported.
Javid said there are now 261 omicron cases in England, 71 in Scotland and 4 in Wales – a total of 336.
“This includes cases unrelated to international travel, so we can conclude that there is now community transmission across multiple regions in England,” Javid said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday there was currently no need for further restrictions to deal with the Omicron variant, but refused to rule out imposing such measures before Christmas.
Britain has announced that all incoming travelers will need to get a COVID-19 test before departure while arrivals from Nigeria, South Africa and 9 other African countries will have to quarantine in hotels to slow the spread of the new type.
Javid said the number of hotel rooms available for international quarantine would double this week and that the government was “increasing that capacity as quickly as possible”.
Javid said that at this point the government can’t “say for sure” whether or not Omicron will escape COVID vaccines, or if it causes more serious disease.
HF