Covid-19 pandemic: Omicron prompts nixed events, tightened curbs

The number of Omicron cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, the WHO said

The Netherlands went into lockdown on Sunday and the possibility of more Covid-19 restrictions over the Christmas and New Year period loomed over several European countries as the Omicron coronavirus variant spreads quickly.

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid declined on Sunday to rule out the chance of further Covid-19 restrictions before Christmas. When asked whether he could guarantee a so-called circuit-breaker lockdown wouldn’t be imposed within days, he replied: “There are no guarantees in this pandemic. At this point, we just have to keep everything under review.” Javid said the government was taking the “sobering” advice of its scientists seriously,