No plans for any further Covid restrictions in UK, says Health Secretary Sajid Javid

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday there were no plans that he was aware of to introduce new restrictions to contain the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked people to work from home, wear masks in public places and uses vaccine passes, but he faces a backlash from his lawmakers and has not set out any further rules, despite warning that a tidal wave of cases are coming.

“There are no plans that I am aware of for any further restrictions,” Javid said in parliament on Monday.

Javid told parliament the variant now accounted for around 44% of infections in London and would be the dominant variant in the capital within 48 hours.

One person has died in the country after contracting the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier, the first publicly confirmed death globally from the swiftly spreading strain.

Before the death was announced, Britain said 10 people had been hospitalised with the Omicron variant in various parts of England. Their ages ranged from 18 to 85 years and most had received two vaccination doses.

• Europe