Circuit-breaker after Christmas ‘too late’

The most effective way to stop the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus would be to have a circuitbreaker lockdown before Christmas, a leading Government adviser has said.

Stephen Reicher, professorof social psychology at the University of St Andrew sand member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies(Sage), said it was clear that Plan B measures alone would not be enough to stop the spiralling numbers of cases.

Prof Reicher, who was speaking to Times Radio in a personal capacity, said the time to act was now.

It comes amid reports officials have been drawing up draft plans for a two-week circuit-breaker lockdown after Christmas.

The Times reported that draft regulations were being prepared which could ban meeting others indoors except for work purposes and that pubs and restaurants would be limited to outdoor service only, for two weeks after Christmas.

On Saturday, Prof Reich er told Times Radio that "all the science suggests that (Plan B is) not going to be enough". He said: "The only way really, or at least the most effective way, we can have an immediate effect is to decrease the number of contacts we have.

"In many ways, the most effective way of diminishing contact is to have a circuitbreaker. Now, you could have it after Christmas, the problem is after Christmas it's probably too late.

"When people say 'look, we don't want to close down', of course, we don't want to close down. But the problem is, things are closing down anyway,because of the spread of infection. So I think we need to act now."