Brussels | As omicron spreads ever more gloom around the globe before New Year’s Eve, governments are moving at different speeds to contain the scourge, with some reimposing restrictions immediately and others hesitating to spoil the party again.

In Britain, where the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus has sent case loads soaring to record highs, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday no further restrictions would be introduced in England before the new year. New daily infections in England are hovering around 100,000, and hospital admissions were up more than 70 per cent on Christmas from a week earlier.

AP