Mask wearing is back as variant from southern Africa appears
HEALTH Secretary Sajid Javid has set out a list of measures as the new Omicron variant of Covid starts to spread across the UK.
In a statement to Parliament on Monday, he set out what action the Government was taking to help prevent the spread of the new variant.
Face coverings have become mandatory again on public transport and in shops, and people arriving in the UK from abroad will now also have to take a PCR test and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
On Monday, the Government also announced a major expansion of the booster-jab rollout, which health experts say is the best defence against a potential wave of infections.
Third vaccines will be offered to all over-18s in the UK, while children aged 12 to 15 will be invited for a second jab.
It has also been announced that local pharmacies could be used as part of the rollout and it is likely that there will be some prioritisation to ensure the vulnerable receive their top-up shots first - as with the original scheme.
The new “variant of concern”, named Omicon after a letter in the Greek alphabet, was found in South Africa last Wednesday.
It is the 13th variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus that has received a Greek designation under the World Health Organisation’s classification system for variants of interest or concern.
Omicron’s scientific name under the system from the Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak group is B.1.1.529.
Cases for the new variant are being identified around the world, and there are currently a handful of known cases in the UK, but the numbers are expected to rise sharply.
South Africa reported the first case of the Omicron variant to WHO on November 24. Its first known infection was from samples collected November 9, but Botswana also had samples collected November 11 with the variant present.
WHO lists “multiple countries” for its earliest documented samples as a result.
Over the weekend the Government brought in travel bans for 10 southern African nations in a bid to slow the arrival of omicron in the UK - with countries added to the red list.
Anyone who returns from countries including South Africa and Angola must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.
On Saturday Boris Johnson announced there would be new rules needed to combat Omicron - including the return of mandatory masks in shops and on public transport.
The rules were detailed on Monday and came into effect yesterday morning.
MPS will have a chance to vote on the law within 28 days.
Omicron is causing concern because of the high number of mutations in the virus - twice as many as in the previous Covid variant.
There are fears it can spread much more rapidly and could get round vaccine protection a theory yet to be scientifically proven. The Government says it will review the new rules in three weeks’ time, after sufficient data on how the new variant affects immune systems has been gathered, and Mr Javid told MPS they would be given a chance to debate and vote on the rule changes on masks and self-isolation.
He said: “If it emerges that this variant is no more dangerous than the Delta variant, then we won’t keep measures in place for a day longer than necessary. Our experience of fighting this virus has shown us it’s best to act decisively and swiftly when we see a potential threat. Which is why we’re building our defences and putting these measures in place without delay.”
“The reason we’ve taken measures is to protect the progress we have made, and if we can do that then we can look forward to a fine Christmas.”
At the time of going to press, there were no reports of the new variant of concern reaching the Ashbourne area, although a case had been identified in Nottingham.
The most up-to-date weekly data shows there had been 22 cases in Ashbourne in the last seven days – leaving the Ashbourne South ward with a rolling rate, measured per 100,000 population, of 293.1. This is one of the lowest in the area, as most wards are seeing rates well in excess of 300 – even above 500 in some cases.
The more rural Ashbourne North ward currently sits at 376.8, and the Mayfield, Rocester & Bramshall ward sits at 519.8.
One of the lowest rates in the Derbyshire Dales is seen in Ambergate, Heage & Idridgehay, which has a rate of just 164.7 - and the district’s rate as a whole is currently 386.6. This is generated by 280 new cases being detected in a week, up by 20 over the last week.