Queen Elizabeth II has canceled her traditional stay at her residence in Sandringham, in the east of England, for Christmas, which she will celebrate this year at Windsor Castle, near London, British media reported on Monday. The 95-year-old sovereign took this "
personal decision after careful consideration
", explained a source close to the monarchy to the British news agency PA, for whom this choice "
reflects a cautious approach
". "
Members of the (royal) family will come to Windsor during the Christmas period
", assures the same anonymous source, according to which "
reasonable precautions and all appropriate directives will be followed
".
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The monarch, whom his doctors advised in October to rest after a night in hospital, and close members of the royal family traditionally spend Christmas in Sandringham, where they attend church on Christmas Day. The queen had already given up as a precaution to organize her traditional family reunion which was to bring together about fifty people this Tuesday at Windsor Castle, now her main residence, for the first time since the death of her husband Philip in April. Faced with the outbreak of the Omicron variant in the United Kingdom, which recorded 91,743 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours on Monday, Britons are worried and cancel their outings to preserve their Christmas with their family, but others say they are hostile with harsh restrictions.
Read also Covid-19: the United Kingdom accelerates its efforts in the face of the spread of Omicron
On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that he "
would not hesitate to take
more restrictive
measures
" to stem the spread of the Omicron variant, without however proceeding with the turn of the screw demanded by some.
"
For now we want people to focus on caution,
" the conservative leader told televisions after an extraordinary cabinet meeting, citing ventilation and wearing masks.
According to the authorities, at least fourteen people infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have so far died and 129 are hospitalized in the United Kingdom, one of the countries already among the most affected by the pandemic in Europe with more than 147,000 dead.
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