No post-Christmas restrictions to be announced for UK, says Sajid Javid

United Kingdom's Health Minister Sajid Javid has confirmed that the ministers are not planning to announce any new restrictions after Christmas. "We're clear that there's no need for any further restrictions of any type before Christmas but of course, we will keep the situation under review," he said. 

He further added that people "should enjoy their Christmases with their families and their friends," but at the same time, they need to remain cautious. 

The UK has been hardest hit by the threats of the Omicron variant as it has confirmed that over 10,000 new Omicron cases so far. This is fueling the Covid surge in the country. 

Javid further informed that the situation will be kept under review. "We will keep analysing that data and if we need to do anything more we will, but nothing more is going to happen before Christmas," he said. 

Speaking about the Omicron variant, Javid had said that there is much "we still don't know" about the Omicron variant and also warned that "it may be too late to react."

"We have to be clear-eyed about the challenge Omicron presents. Our strategy since it emerged has been and remains to buy time for our scientists to assess the threat and build up our defences," he wrote in a column in Sunda Telegraph. 

He further wrote, "Standing in Parliament this week and arguing for Plan B brought me no joy – promoting individual freedom and opportunity is one of the reasons I got into politics." 

(With inputs from agencies)