British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK should take “targeted and proportionate measures now” amid concerns over the new Omicron COVID-19 version.
“Let me emphasize this: As always, with a new version, there are many things we may not know at this early stage. Our scientists are learning more hour by hour. It appears that Omicron is very Spreads rapidly and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated. There is also a very widespread mutation, which means that it is quite different from the previous configuration of the virus, and as a result, it has the least amount of time. may reduce the safety of our vaccines,” Johnson said at a press conference.
two cases The variant has been detected so far in the UK.
Johnson also announced additional measures:
“We are not going to stop people traveling. But we will need to do a PCR test by the end of the second day after the arrival of anyone entering the UK and self-isolate until a negative result,” Johnson said said. , “…to trace the people we are already taking who have been in countries of concern over the past 10 days, we will need to have all contacts of people who have self-contained with a suspected case of Omicron. -Isolated to test positive for 10 days regardless of your vaccination status.”
The prime minister said his country would “promote the booster campaign” so that more people could get their vaccine booster shots.
“We don’t yet know exactly how effective our vaccines will be against Omicron, but we have good reasons to believe they will provide at least some measure of protection. And if you are promoted, your The response is likely to be strong. So it’s more important than ever that people loosen their wallets and we get those boosters up in arms as quickly as possible,” Johnson said.
Johnson said rules for face coverings would have to be “tightened” in shops and on public transport.
He said the new measures would be reviewed in three weeks.
Johnson expressed his “deep gratitude” to the scientists in South Africa for this type of identification.
Watch Boris Johnson’s speech:
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