Ghadeer Mahar grimaces as she is given a vaccination at a COVID-19 booster vaccination centre at Hampden Park vaccination centre in Glasgow, Scotland, Wednesday Dec. 29, 2021.
People queue, wearing masks against the coronavirus, outside a theatre for a performance of Les Miserables in London, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. Many European countries have started further restrictions on their populations as the number of Omicron related COVID-19 case rise, and they aim to contain the spread of the virus. In England the government has said that there will be no new restriction before the New Year.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a Covid vaccination centre at the Rainbow Pharmacy in the Open University Campus, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Wednesday Dec. 29, 2021.
People, some wearing masks, gather on the south bank of river Thames to celebrate New Year’s Eve, in London, Friday, Dec. 31, 2021. In Britain, where the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus has sent caseloads soaring to record highs, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Monday no further restrictions will be introduced in England before the new year.
Britain’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. British lawmakers have voted to approve new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant. The House of Commons approved measures ordering masks to be worn indoors in England and requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter nightclubs and large crowded events.
A sign saying lateral flow coronavirus tests are out of stock is displayed in a pharmacy window in London, Thursday Dec. 30, 2021. Officials have warned revellers in Scotland and Wales to think twice before travelling to England to ring in the new year, highlighting how the four parts of the U.K. were again taking starkly different approaches to coronavirus restrictions amid record-high infections and soaring hospitalizations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resisted tightening restrictions in England despite the rapid spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to a Covid vaccination centre at the Rainbow Pharmacy in the Open University Campus, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, England, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021.
LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government has been making contingency plans in case hospitals, schools and other workplaces are hit by major staff shortages amid the country’s record-breaking spike in coronavirus infections.
Public sector workplaces have been preparing for staff absences ranging from 10% to 25% as COVID-19 sickens more people or forces them to isolate, the Cabinet Office said.
The highly transmissible omicron variant has caused Britain’s daily new caseload to soar over Christmas and the New Year, with a new daily high of 189,000 on Dec. 31. About 1 in 25 people in England — or about 2 million people — had COVID-19 in the week before Christmas, the Office of National Statistics estimated. In London, the figure was 1 in 15.
Cabinet Office Minister Stephen Barclay said there had already been “significant” absences and the government was preparing for “every eventuality”.
“It’s important that those contingency plans are refreshed and that we take measures to mitigate those impacts,” Barclay said.
He cited increased support for virus testing in schools and warehouses, and perhaps better ventilation, as an example of how to prevent disruptions.
Devolved authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have imposed limits on events and social gatherings in the face of the fast-spreading omicron. But Health Secretary Sajid Javid says adding new restrictions is a “last resort” for England, despite the climbing daily infection rate.
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