Christmas lockdown after 12 Omicron deaths? Here's what UK deputy PM has to say

The rapid spread of the Omicron variant ahead of the festival has put the British government in a spot amid reports of a possible two-week circuit-breaker lockdown.

Britain’s deputy prime minister Dominic Raab on Monday said 12 people infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus have died in the United Kingdom, refusing to rule out further restrictions before Christmas. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant ahead of the festival has put the British government in a spot amid reports of a possible two-week circuit-breaker lockdown.

With record levels of Covid cases in Britain, officials have warned that the full effect of the latest wave is yet to be seen.(AFP)

Health experts have also started to play down the initial argument of “mild” disease from Omicron as compared to the Delta variant given the worrying rate of transmission which could overwhelm the health system. The United Kingdom has been recorded over 37,000 confirmed cases of Omicron, with a majority of cases detected in the last two days.

With record levels of Covid cases in Britain, officials have warned that the full effect of the latest wave is yet to be seen. While the severity of the disease caused by the new variant of concern remains unclear, 12 deaths related to Omicron may push the government to opt for stricter measures in the coming days. As many as 104 Covid patients are currently in hospital with Omicron, said Raab.

When asked about whether the government would impose further restrictions before Christmas, the deputy PM told Times Radio, "I just can't make hard and fast guarantees."

"In assessing the situation we rely very heavily on the real data coming through and it will take a little bit more time to assess this critical issue of the severity of Omicron."

Last week, British media reported on a meeting held by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) which recommended measures ranging from "mild guidance to nudge people, right through to lockdown."

"If the aim is to reduce the levels of infection in the population and prevent hospitalisations reaching these levels, more stringent measures would need to be implemented very soon," the Sage minutes said, as quoted by BBC.