Anyone entering the UK will be required to take PCR tests, Boris Johnson, the country’s Prime Minister has ordered following the detection of Omicron, the latest coronavirus variant of concern.
He declared this at a news conference announcing new measures in England in response to the emergence of Omicron.
People arriving in the UK will also need to isolate until they receive a negative result.
Wearing face coverings in shops and on public transport will become compulsory and all contacts of suspected Omicron cases must self-isolate for 10 days.
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But the government is not moving to its full “Plan B” and people are not being asked to work from home.
While knowledge on how effective current vaccines will be is not yet out, the PM said he was confident this Christmas would be better than last year’s.
It was earlier confirmed that two Omicron cases had been detected in the UK.
