The British government reacted to the discovery of the new Coronavirus variant Omikron from South Africa with a "moderate" reintroduction of everyday restrictions.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke on Saturday of the goal of “buying time” until scientists found out more about the “worrisome” variant of the virus.

So far, two Omicron cases have been recorded in the Kingdom.

The British must now wear masks again in public transport and in shops.

The travel conditions have also been tightened.

Health Minister Sajid Javid assured the BBC on Sunday that the situation "nowhere near" requires further action.

Jochen Buchsteiner

Political correspondent in London.

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It is the first tightening of requirements in a long time.

They had been phased out in steps since March and largely abolished in July.

With the package, the government remains under its "Plan B", with which it wants to respond to excessive demands on the health system.

This would also include a recommendation to work from home as well as possible obligations to provide proof of vaccination.

Javid justified the tightening on Sunday, which was surprisingly cautious for some, with the words that a return to home work and contact restrictions “is associated with high economic and social costs, but also.

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having implications for mental health ”.

Many people voluntarily wear mouth and nose protection

For many Brits, the mask requirement does not mean a change, because they have voluntarily wore mouth and nose protection in the past few months. A change for people vaccinated twice and three times, on the other hand, means the obligation to self-isolate for ten days if one has come into contact with the new virus variant. Fully vaccinated travelers are also affected by the new regulations. From Tuesday on, everyone must book an (expensive) PCR test for the second day after arrival before entering the country and remain in quarantine at home until a negative result. In addition, the government stopped flight connections to ten African countries. Returnees from these countries have to stay in a quarantine hotel for ten days.

The swift but mild response reflects the government's political dilemma.

The modeler Mike Tildesley, whose results are part of the decision-making basis for the ministers in London, put it this way on Sunday: “If you don't take measures and then it turns out that Omikron is really bad, you have reacted too late.

If they take measures and it turns out that Omikron is no more dangerous than Delta, they are under fire for introducing unnecessary requirements. ”Tildesley dared to predict that Christmas would be better than last.

A year ago it was still forbidden to mix two households.