Ghadeer Mahar grimaces as she gets vaccinated at a COVID-19 booster vaccination center at the Hampden Park vaccination center in Glasgow, Scotland on Wednesday, December 29, 2021.
People are lining up, wearing coronavirus masks, outside a theater for a performance of Les Misérables in London on Tuesday, December 28, 2021. Many European countries have started to further restrict their populations as the number of COVID cases- 19 linked to Omicron is increasing, and they are aimed at containing the spread of the virus. In England, the government has said there will be no new restrictions until the New Year.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a Covid Vaccination Center at the Rainbow Pharmacy on the Open University Campus, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire on Wednesday, December 29, 2021.
People, some wearing masks, gather on the south bank of the Thames to celebrate New Years Eve, in London, on Friday, December 31, 2021. In Britain, where the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus has raised the issue number of cases at record levels, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday that no further restrictions would be introduced in England before the new year.
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday December 15, 2021. UK lawmakers have voted to approve new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant. The House of Commons has approved measures ordering the wearing of masks indoors in England and requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter nightclubs and large crowded events.
A sign indicating that lateral flow coronavirus tests are out of stock is displayed in a pharmacy window in London on Thursday, December 30, 2021. Officials have warned revelers in Scotland and Wales to think twice times before heading to England to ring in the New Year, highlighting how the four parts of the UK are once again taking radically different approaches to coronavirus restrictions amid record infections and soaring hospitalizations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resisted tightening restrictions in England despite the rapid spread of the highly transmissible variant of omicron.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to a Covid vaccination center at the Rainbow Pharmacy on the Open University Campus, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, England, Wednesday December 29, 2021.
By MIKE FULLER – Associated Press
LONDON (AP) – The UK government has drawn up contingency plans in case hospitals, schools and other workplaces are hit by a major staff shortage amid the country’s record peak in coronavirus infections .
Public sector workplaces have braced for staff absences ranging from 10% to 25% as COVID-19 is making more people sick or forcing them to self-isolate, the Cabinet Office said.
The highly transmissible variant of omicron has skyrocketed the number of new daily cases in Britain over Christmas and New Years, with a new daily high of 189,000 on December 31. About 1 in 25 people in England – roughly 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 Minister Stephen Barclay said there had already been “significant” absences and the government was preparing for “any eventuality.”
“It is important that these contingency plans are up to date and that we take action to mitigate these impacts,” said Barclay.
He cited increased support for virus testing in schools and warehouses, and perhaps better ventilation, as an example of how to avoid disruption.
Decentralized authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have placed limits on events and social gatherings in the face of the rapid spread of omicron. But Health Secretary Sajid Javid said adding new restrictions is a “last resort” for England, despite the rising daily infection rate.
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