New Covid-19 prevention measures will come into place on Tuesday including compulsory face masks and PCR tests for all travellers.
Following the latest Coronavirus variant named Omicron that was identified by South African scientists, Boris Johnson has announced new mandatory rules to help curb the spread.
As of Tuesday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said that people must wear face coverings on public transport and in shops. He hopes that this will be a temporary measure.
As well as this, it has been announced that all travellers to the UK must take a PCR test on their arrival and isolate until their negative COVID state is confirmed with a negative test result.
All contacts of people confirmed to have the Omicron will also have to self-isolate even if they are vaccinated.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Boris Johnson said, “Our scientists are learning more hour by hour, and it does appear that Omicron spreads very rapidly and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated.
“We need to slow down the spread of this variant here in the UK, because measures at the border can only ever minimise and delay the arrival of a new variant rather than stop it all together.”
Two cases of the Omicron have been confirmed in the UK so far, with one found in Nottingham and the other in Essex.
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