After weeks of resistance, the Prime Minister was forced to choose between getting more people and dying of Covid or imposing restrictions and adding to economic problems and debt. However, that choice is unlikely to resolve Boris Johnson’s credit crunch. So far, 45,145 people in the UK have been infected with Omicron and 12 have died. However, the conservative government of Boris Johnson has resisted imposing any new restrictions.
Omicron is different. Rather than just relying on brute force, as Delta did, it is far better at sneaking through immune defences, thanks to several mutations that it acquired in critical regions of its spike protein. These reduce the ability to neutralise antibodies to bind to it. It spreads primarily by (re-)infecting previously immunised hosts. In general, the British government, under a lot of economic pressure after withdrawing from the EU, is trying to prevent the tightening of corporate restrictions and the closure of businesses. But health experts are calling for transparent government action and strict restrictions.
Confusion on Covid decision making
After the cabinet meeting, Johnson said that he reserved the right to increase restrictions for the government but that there were still issues that needed to be clarified before The government could take new action. He added that the government monitors the data “hour by hour” and will not hesitate to take new measures. “Unfortunately, I must say people that we need to take further steps to protect the public, the public health and the health services,” Johnson said. “We are examining a variety of issues to contain Omicron, and we do not rule out any possibility.”
Procrastination is a thief of time!
The Prime Minister is waiting to learn more about Omicron before the final decision. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, declared a state of emergency in the capital, citing a sharp rise in hospital admissions. This stage means that Johnson must coordinate the response of the country’s health centres to this incident at the national level. In an interview with the BBC, Sajid Javid did not rule out the possibility of re-imposing covid restrictions, saying “there is no guarantee of an epidemic.”
Omicron, Silent menace
Meanwhile, Patrick Vallance called for stricter social restrictions to reduce the number of patients and pressure the country’s health service. The government’s emergency scientific advisory group (Sage) also said that Omicron was “moving like an express train”. The government should send a clear message that the crisis was severe by tightening covid restrictions. Speculation about a two-week UK quarantine has risen after the Christmas holidays. Transport Minister Grant Shapps announced the possibility of holding an emergency parliamentary session at Christmas to vote on tightening restrictions.
Does booster jab suffice?
The prime minister hopes that encouraging people to get booster vaccines will eliminate the omicron threat. The British government has recently changed its approach to the deadline for receiving the third dose of the anti-covid vaccine and advised people over the age of 18 to receive the booster vaccine three months after receiving the second dose. The government has also taken precautionary measures to use face masks indoors and advises employees to work from home if possible.
WHO warning & Johnson’s insouciance
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it is “very concerned” about the spread of Omicron in Europe. The organisation warns that 700,000 people could die if no immediate action is taken by March next year. Before the Omicron outbreak, the British government had insisted that the covid restrictions would not be re-imposed. However, since the situation in covid was unpredictable, Boris Johnson appeared to be retreating. The British Minister of Finance unveiled an economic package worth one billion pounds to support businesses. The decision could signal the Chinese government’s intention to impose new restrictions.
Wellcome notes
A leading health expert in the UK said, “We are in the most difficult, uncertain time, perhaps the entire covid epidemic, since March 2020. The Omicron is expanding at an incredible rate. “It’s a lot, but there’s a lot of uncertainty.” Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Global Charitable Foundation, said that if the death toll did not drop within the next 48 hours, the Johnson administration would have to act before Christmas.
Omicron has reportedly been reported in more than 135 countries. The virus is more contagious than other strains of covid, but the severity of the disease is still unclear. The new measures have already been implemented in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but ministers have failed to dictate new laws in the UK, hoping the warnings will encourage people to monitor their behaviour and reduce social activity.
Omicron, Crisis ahead
The Prime Minister is expected to be briefed by the Chief Medical Officer of the United Kingdom, Professor Chris Whitty – who is said to possibly receive a knight for his epidemic efforts – and the Chief Scientific Adviser to Sir Patrick Vallance. Boris Johnson, who is facing several crises such as Britain’s exit from the European Union, known as Brexit, astronomical debts, rising inflation and the Covid epidemic, has faced another problem in recent weeks. For some time now, images have been leaked to the British media showing members of the British government celebrating in government buildings, an issue that sparked a wave of criticism. Recently, the British Prime Minister and the Conservative ruling party have faced unprecedented crises. Among them was that the ruling Conservative Party lost the 200-year-old constituency in the midterm elections. Brexit minister David Frost resigned in a protest against Johnson’s incompetent administration.
Labours’ harsh criticism
Criticising the government performance, Keir Starmer, the leader of the British Labour Party, said that what the country needs in this situation is a prime minister who has a plan. This plan supports jobs, schools and other sections of society. He added: “Boris Johnson thinks about the goals of his party, which is a wrong priority at the wrong time.”
Final word
While Omicron has made Britain the focus of the new corona, political circles in Britain have announced that at least a third of the ten ministers are opposed to escalating covid restrictions and that Boris Johnson’s political future is now in jeopardy.
Rising popular discontent has also become a nightmare for the British Prime Minister. “I’m worried that Omicron will become a big problem,” said one British citizen. London was declared the most polluted city in the country by Omicron, but many people still enter and leave the city; under these circumstances, epidemic management could have been much better. The UK is a far cry from many countries regarding the number of people infected with covid, the number of the epidemic and even the number of people infected with Omicron. New quotas have been set for covid and its deaths in the last week.
