Omicron cannot be stopped from spreading by a working from home order, a leading scientist has said.
Prof Neil Ferguson, whose modelling helped instigate the first lockdown last year, was responding to reports suggesting ministers had drawn up plans to introduce vaccine passports and send workers home in an attempt to restrict the spread of the new variant.
He said working from home “wouldn’t stop it but it might slow it down so it’s doubling, rather than every two or three days, every five or six days”.
“It doesn’t sound like a lot but it is potentially a lot in terms of allowing us to catch this virus better and boost population immunity,” he said.
Prof Ferguson, who advises the government on Covid, said given the lack of knowledge about Omicron, it is impossible to rule out further restrictions, including another lockdown in the new year.
He said while official figures show Omicron is "accelerating very fast" in the UK, "it’s the same if not faster than we saw with the original strain of the virus in March of last year".
"So it is a concern," he added. “It’s likely to overtake Delta before Christmas at this rate, precisely when is hard to say.
“We’ll start seeing an impact on overall case numbers – it’s still probably only 2 percent, 3 percent of all cases so it’s kind of swamped, but within a week or two, we’ll start seeing overall case numbers accelerate quite markedly as well.”
On Tuesday the UK declared 101 new Omicron infections, taking the total to 437.
Government officials working on Covid policy have carried out modelling on the economic impact of a working from home order over the Christmas and new year period, according to The Telegraph.
Prof Ferguson’s comments came as ministers in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet were said to be split on the idea of introducing a vaccine passport scheme at a meeting on Tuesday.
Amid rising cases of Omicron in the UK, members were forced to confront the idea of moving to the government’s Plan B. This would mean everyone who can work from home being ordered to do so.
The results of the first laboratory experiments released on Monday evening from South Africa suggest Omicron has the potential to evade immunity significantly better than any other variant discovered so far.
Tests were carried out on blood samples taken from people who had received two doses of a vaccine and it was found that their antibodies were one-fortieth as potent in their ability to prevent Omicron from infecting cells. A more robust response was found in double vaccinated people who had been infected with Omicron. The researchers concluded that this implied that a booster shot could improve a person’s immune defences, at least against severe disease.
Senior Conservative MPs said that the prime minister would face a backlash if he tightened restrictions while there is not a single person in hospital with Omicron.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former party leader, said the Conservative government had to “hold our nerve” and back away from Plan B, instead trusting in the vaccination programme.
Former Cabinet minister David Davis said: “As far as I can see, Omicron appears to be a very infectious but less virulent variant.”
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Omicron and Covid-19 around the world - in pictures
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Health workers take a break from administering Covid-19 swab tests in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The country reported its first case of heavily mutated coronavirus Omicron variant of concern on December 3 in a citizen returning from South Africa. EPA -
A health worker holds a vial of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a pop-up in Manhattan, New York City. Reuters -
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wearing a protective face covering to combat the spread of the coronavirus, leaves No 10 Downing Street in central London to take part in the weekly session of Prime Minister Questions at Parliament. He is facing a backlash from some of his own MPs over new coronavirus restrictions as he contends with a slump in support and questions about his future. AFP -
A dose of Covid-19 vaccine is given to a school pupil during a vaccination drive for children aged 6 to 11, in West Java, Indonesia. The country has reported that more than 4.2 million coronavirus infections with cases among people aged 18 and under making up 13 per cent of Indonesia’s total cases. EPA -
Medical workers take nasal samples from people at a makeshift coronavirus testing site in Seoul, South Korea. AP -
Brentford’s Premier League clash with Manchester United has this week been postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak at the Old Trafford club. By Tuesday morning, the English Premier League had been hit by 42 positive tests. Photo: Manchester United FC -
Visitors wear masks at a shopping centre in Beijing. Chinese state media said the first case of the Omicron variant had been detected in the country's mainland in Tianjin city, about 135km east of the capital. AP -
People shop for Christmas in Sydney. Covid-19 restrictions will ease further across the state of New South Wales, including rules for unvaccinated people. Getty Images -
The body of a person who died from Covid-19) is pushed to be cremated by the Farmington Funeral Home in New Mexico, US. Reuters -
People take a ski lift wearing a mandatory mask as a preventive measure against Covid-19, in the Alpe d’Huez ski resort, France. AFP -
Nathan Blackwater holds his daughter, Nylah, as she receives her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in Shiprock, New Mexico. Reuters -
Medical workers in protective suits collect swabs from residents at a Covid-19 testing site in Ningbo, China. Reuters -
Covid-19 patient Larry Goff, 61, in an isolation room at San Juan Regional Medical Centre in Farmington, New Mexico. Reuters -
A man has a nose swab sample collected at a mobile Covid-19 testing unit in Manhattan, New York. Reuters -
Daniel and Paris Hokin wait for their Covid-19 test results with their children at a check point in Coolangatta, on Australia's Gold Coast, before entering Queensland. Getty -
Skiers wait for a cable car in Obereggen, Italy. The Italian government tightened health restrictions from December 6 to combat the rise in Covid-19 cases. Getty -
Protesters take part in a demonstration against Covid-19 health restrictions in Austria, which became the first EU country to say it would make vaccinations mandatory. AFP -
Pilgrims walk towards Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City on Sunday after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. AP -
Ukrainians take part in a protest against Covid-19 restrictions for unvaccinated people in Kiev. EPA -
Medical workers protest against the Belgian government's Covid-19 restrictions in Brussels. Reuters -
Travellers wear protective suits at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, near Jakarta. Indonesia has banned travellers from eight African countries in an effort to curb the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Reuters -
A medic prepares a Covid-19 vaccine dose during an inoculation campaign in the Palestinian city of Rafah. AFP -
An electronic stock market board in Tokyo, Japan. Stocks advanced in Asia after a broad rally on Wall Street amid hopes that the Omicron strain will not pose a big economic threat. AP -
A woman undergoes a PCR test at a Covid-19 testing centre in Seoul, South Korea. AFP -
A woman attending a religious festival in Managua, Nicaragua, has her hands sprayed with sanitiser as a precaution against Covid-19. EPA -
A restaurant worker in Warsaw checks a customer's proof of vaccination. From March, Poland's health workers, teachers, police and other uniformed service workers will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19. AP -
Activists lit about 12,000 candles in Bern, Switzerland, in memory of the people who have died from Covid-19 in the country. EPA -
A pedestrian walks past a mobile Covid-19 vaccine clinic in Manhattan, New York. Reuters -
A healthcare worker prepares to give a woman a Covid-19 vaccine dose in Lima, Peru. Reuters -
A 'Mask Up For Christmas' sign in Manchester. The UK government is advising people to receive Covid-19 booster shots as it reintroduces safety measures. Getty -
A man walks along the bank of the Danube Canal during the lockdown in Vienna. Graffiti on the wall reflects opposition to the Covid-19 vaccination campaign. AP -
A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks rallied on Wall Street as investors hoped that the Omicron coronavirus variant will not pose a big economic threat. AP -
A Christmas market in Berlin. Germany is dealing with a rising number of coronavirus infections. EPA -
A lab worker handles positive Covid-19 samples to be sequenced in the virology laboratory of the APHP Henri Mondor Hospital in Creteil, on the outskirts of Paris. AFP -
A health worker collects a swab sample of a passenger who arrived in Karnataka by train, following the detection of the Omicron strain in the Indian state. EPA -
Officials disinfect the cabin of an Asiana Airlines plane at Incheon International Airport in South Korea amid mounting concerns about the Omicron variant. EPA -
Signage for a vaccination site in a Manhattan subway station as the Omicron strain continues to spread in New York. Reuters -
Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a press conference in Downing Street after ministers met to consider imposing new restrictions in response to rising cases and the spread of the Omicron variant. PA -
A member of the Western Cape Metro Emergency Medical Services receives vaccines from an ambulance in Cape Town, South Africa. AFP -
People queue for Covid-19 booster jabs outside a vaccination centre in London. UK government health experts are advising that all people aged over 18 should receive Covid-19 booster shots. EPA
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The debate comes as the government finds itself at the centre of a storm of criticism over a suspected Christmas party for staff in Downing Street last year when social mixing was banned.
A leaked video obtained by ITV News showed the prime ninister’s press secretary at the time, Allegra Stratton, joking about a “fictional” party in December 2020. Adviser Ed Oldfield jokingly asked her about a party and she laughed off the question, saying it “was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced”.
Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer hit out at the government over the reports and leaked video, saying: “They’re treating the public with contempt. The prime minister needs to step up, accept what happened and apologise.”
Sir Roger Gale, a Conservative MP, said Mr Johnson “has a certain amount of explaining to do” over the party.
He said he will accept there was no gathering only if the Prime Minister will “say point blank that there was no party”.
“To deliberately mislead the House [of Commons], if that turned out to be the case, would be a resignation matter,” Sir Roger told Sky News.
He said the only options at Mr Johnson’s disposal are for him to either admit there was a lockdown-breaking party and he didn’t know about it, or to say “on the record, at the despatch box, there was no party”.
Ian Blackford, the Scottish National Party’s leader in Westminster, said the prime minister “has to resign” over the scandal.
As the backlash continued on Wednesday morning, Health Secretary Sajid Javid failed to show up to scheduled TV and radio interviews to answer questions about the government’s conduct.
Mr Johnson is expected to make a statement about the party at the weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions at noon on Wednesday.
