In the shadow of the party affair at Downing 10, Britain has imposed new restrictions

The government is having a hard time fending off criticism of Johnson's advisers' celebration at his residence during the closure last year, meanwhile trying to persuade citizens to comply with the new regulations in light of the spread of the omicron.

"No one is above the law," the health minister claimed

Reuters

09/12/2021

Thursday, 09 December 2021, 21:43 Updated: 23:00

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In the video: Johnson announces steps to prevent the spread of the omicron variant in the country (Photo: Reuters)

Britain today (Thursday) urged its citizens to abide by the new restrictions designed to curb the spread of Corona virus varient omicron, amid allegations of hypocrisy by the government following reports of parties at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's residence while the kingdom was under closure.

Johnson yesterday imposed the new restrictions, which will apply in England as in other parts of the UK the health authorities are autonomous - just hours after apologizing for a video in which his advisers were seen laughing at a Christmas party allegedly held at Downing 10 last year.

The new restrictions, which include working from home, wearing masks in public and carrying immunization certificates, do not come to a close, but they have met with opposition from some members of Johnson's Conservative Party and from the retail and leisure sectors who are happy with the economic damage.

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"No one is exempt" (Photo: Reuters, Hannah McKay)

When asked why the British, who at the same party last year were not allowed to say goodbye to their dying relatives in hospitals due to closure, should now abide by government decisions, Health Minister Sajid Javid said the rules apply to everyone.

"No one is exempt. No one is above the rules or the law in this matter," said Javid, who added that he was outraged and upset by the video in which advisers at the prime minister's residence were seen joking about how to ward off possible journalists' questions about the same party.

According to the health minister, the new restrictions have been imposed following scientific evidence that omicron is able to infect vaccines and spreads faster compared to any other corona variant. Javid warned that the omicron could lead to about a million infections across the kingdom, if the current rate of infection remained the same.

Experts warn that the UK could face between 1,000 and 2,000 people hospitalized with Omicron a day without urgent action.

Such a pace would quickly collapse the public health system and prevent other emergency care.

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