- They are indeed superspreaders."
This was not introduced in the article.
The article doesn't say anything about confirming your take on Omicron.
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And after weeks of refusing to admit Christmas plans could be under threat, Mr Johnson told the country to cut back on Christmas partying and 'think carefully' before going out during the festive season
The Independent SAGE group of scientists and medics has called for an immediate 10-day 'circuit-breaker' shutdown, with bans on households mixing and the closure of hospitality firms. They accused the Prime Minister of 'delaying' from imposing tighter controls and said the time for 'emergency action' had now come.
And doubling down on the Prime Minister's inference that people must be cut back on socialising to avoid catching Covid over Christmas week, Health Minister Gillian Keegan said: 'Everybody is urging caution. Most of us will know somebody now who's positive with Covid, and that means if you've tested positive, then you'll be in isolation over Christmas. So that's bound to make people a bit more cautious.'
She added: 'Make a sensible choice for yourself, make a sensible choice. You know, if you're going to go to a party, take a test. If there's lots of people there you don't know, if that's your priority, fine. If your priority is to make it through to Christmas Day with your family then take a different approach'. But then adding to the confusion she later told LBC that Christmas parties can go ahead but people should test beforehand and sit 'spaced apart'
There are now deafening calls from the hospitality industry for a taxpayer-funded bailout to avoid tens of thousands businesses going bust in early 2022, accusing the Government of bringing in a 'lcokdown by stealth'.
Almost every one of the 90 restaurants in London's West End have suffered cancellations in the past week, while one pub manager in Covent Garden added that every single booking for a Christmas party in their private room disappeared last week.
A string of shows in the West End have been cancelled as Omicron becomes the dominant strain in the capital, including Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre, Hex at the National Theatre, and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time at the Troubadour Theatre Wembley.
One restaurateur told the Standard: ‘Sales are dropping, while staff are dropping from Covid; two weeks ago we were packed out until Christmas. Now it’s a tsunamis of cancellations. They need to cut business rates and extend VAT.’
At last night's Downing Street press conference, England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty and Prime Minister Boris Johnson stoked fears further by encouraging people to scale back their Christmas plans. Prof Whitty even rubbished a major real-world study from South Africa which suggested that the variant was milder, and insisted Omicron 'is going to be a problem'.
But business chiefs warned that the advice to curb social mixing could be catastrophic for pubs and restaurants already struggling following nearly two years of restrictions.
Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, president of the British Chambers of Commerce, warned: 'The need for the chief medical officer to advise the public to ''de-prioritise social contacts'' at tonight's press conference will almost certainly have an enormous impact for businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector.'
The Confederation of British Industry claimed that suggestions to limit socialising would have a 'chilling effect' on the industry.
And theatre director Sir Nicholas Hytner said venues were in 'crisis mode', with shows closing as actors and other staff contracted coronavirus while bookings have 'fallen off a cliff'.
Tory MP Anne Marie Morris said: 'If we're effectively telling people not to visit hospitality venues this Christmas, then this needs to be accompanied by immediate sector specific financial support from the Treasury.'
Government scientists have been calling for 'Plan C' curbs as they warn there could be 1million daily cases by next month and 4,000 hospital admissions – levels similar to those seen during the January shutdown. However, the projections are heavily disputed.
More than 78,000 people tested positive for Covid yesterday – a 50 per cent jump on last week, and eclipsing the previous record of 68,053 in January.