Panic in Britain as Omicron coronavirus crisis bites ahead of Christmas
- The country saw a second consecutive day of record cases, with 88,000 new Covid-19 infections recorded
- Queen Elizabeth has cancelled her traditional pre-Christmas family lunch, while ordinary Britons are scrambling to make alternative holiday plans
Soaring Omicron cases left Britons scrambling on Thursday to make alternative Christmas plans, faced with cancellations, long queues for vaccines and France shutting the border to UK visitors.
Britain recorded a second consecutive record daily number of new Covid-19 infections at more than 88,000 but the government has so far stopped short of formal limits on socialising as it awaits further evidence of the severity and impact of the new Omicron variant.
Last year, Christmas celebrations were drastically curtailed after the Alpha variant swept the country. Britons had hoped that this year would be different, but cases have again shot up since the Omicron strain of the virus first emerged.
The UK government last week updated its guidance to advise people to work from home if they can, while mandating they must wear masks in some settings.
But it has stopped short of recommending the cancellation of social gatherings such as Christmas parties, with embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson instead recommending that people get booster vaccines, Covid-19 tests and act cautiously.