The UK’s travel red list will be scrapped from Wednesday morning, as Sajid Javid announced that all 11 countries remaining will be removed at 4am.
People arriving from Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe had been required to quarantine in a hotel when arriving in the UK, in order to tackle the spread of the Omicron variant.
But speaking in the Commons on Tuesday afternoon, Javid said the spread of the variant in the UK and the world meant the red list was “now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad”.
It came as professor Chris Whitty warned ministers to brace for a “significant increase in hospitalisations” from Omicron, as Downing Street insisted no further coronavirus restrictions are being planned.
England’s chief medical officer also told a virtual cabinet meeting on Tuesday that it is “too early to say how severe” the strain is after early suggestions from South Africa that it could be relatively mild.
Boris Johnson also warned his ministers that he believes a “huge spike” of cases of the variant will hit the nation, as he pressures Tory rebels to back his new Plan B restrictions during a Commons vote.
Downing Street did not reject a suggestion that new Omicron cases could hit a million per day next week based on a “valid” estimate from the UK Health Security Agency that daily infections are currently around 200,000.
Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab insisted Plan B restrictions including mandatory mask=wearing and the use of Covid health certificates for large venues will be sufficient over Christmas, meaning families can “spend it with loved ones”.
But Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people across Scotland to limit their mixing by socialising with only up to two other households indoors either side of Christmas.
And the downbeat assessment from Whitty delivered to the first cabinet meeting not to take place in person for months will raise concerns that additional measures may be needed in England in the new year.