Britain could implement tougher COVID-19 measures, including advice to work from home, as early as Thursday in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, according to media reports.
Sterling fell and investors pared back their bets on a Bank of England interest rate hike next week as the reports said Johnson might announce as soon as Wednesday the new Plan B which could also include COVID passports for large venues, the reports said.
A spokesperson for Johnson's office had no immediate comment on the reports, which raised the prospect of another blow to Britain's economic recovery from its historic slump in 2020. Johnson and his ministers have repeatedly denied any rules were broken in late 2020, though the Mirror newspaper said Johnson spoke at a leaving party and that his team had a wine-fuelled gathering of around 40 to 50 people to mark Christmas.At the time of the Downing Street gathering, tens of millions of people across Britain were banned from meeting close family and friends for a traditional Christmas celebration - or even from bidding farewell to dying relatives.
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Here’s How Covid-19 Vaccine Makers Plan To Tackle OmicronI am a London-based reporter for Forbes covering breaking news. Previously, I have worked as a reporter for a specialist legal publication covering big data and as a freelance journalist and policy analyst covering science, tech and health. I have a master’s degree in Biological Natural Sciences and a master’s degree in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow me on Twitter theroberthart or email me at rhartforbes.com
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