British health minister does not rule out imposing new restrictions before Christmas

LONDON (Reuters) - British Health Minister Sajid Javid on Sunday declined to rule out the possibility of new restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 before Christmas, saying the spread of the mutated Omicron strain of coronavirus represented a very rapidly changing situation.

Britain recorded an increase in Omicron infection on Saturday, which government advisers described as just the tip of the iceberg.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan spoke of a "big event" to help the capital's hospitals deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the new strain.

"We are assessing the situation, which is changing very quickly," Javid told the BBC, when asked if he ruled out restrictions before Christmas.

"There are no guarantees with this pandemic. At this moment, everything must remain under review," he added.

Javid said the government is taking "realistic" advice from serious scientists who monitor the data "almost hourly" and will weigh that against the broader impact of the restrictions on things like business and education.

He explained that there is still a lot that we do not know about Omicron, but waiting until the data is clear may not leave time to address it.

The number of Omicron injuries recorded in the country reached about 25,000 as of 1800 GMT on Friday.

Up from ten thousand cases 24 hours ago.

On Saturday, the total number of new cases of COVID-19 reached 90,418, up 44.4 percent from the previous week.

Javid said the government believed 60 per cent of new cases in Britain were Omicron.

Khan noted that imposing new restrictions to contain the COVID-19 disease is inevitable because without them, public service facilities such as the Health Services Authority will collapse under the pressure of labor shortages and an increase in the number of patients.

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