The candidates vying to be the next London mayor
Enfield Council commits to anti-racism and diversity pledge
President Erdogan promised supporters his party would learn its lessons from the defeat
Mayor of London and London Assembly elections
Off duty Police sergeant Eren Emin catch suspected thief while on stag do
A Century of Urban Transformation, Istanbul’s Evolution
Future Painters Exhibition at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Models of Teaching International Journalism for Sustainable Development
English Premier League leaders Arsenal will visit title contenders
Liverpool meet Atalanta and West Ham face Bayer Leverkusen
Arsenal face Bayern Munich and Manchester City play Real Madrid
UK Transfer deadline day, the transfer window closes tonight
Petrol prices on UK forecourts hit 150p a litre
Europe's travel strikes: Flight and train disruption you can expect in April
Enfield Council website achieves digital inclusion recognition
Enfield Council’s Planning Enforcement team goes from strength to strength
PCR tests for everyone entering the UK will be introduced and all contacts of new variant cases will have to self-isolate, even if fully jabbed. But Boris Johnson said Christmas would be "considerably better" than in 2020.
The measures were "temporary and precautionary", he added.
Mr Johnson announced the restrictions at a Downing Street news conference after it was confirmed that two Omicron cases had been detected in Brentwood, Essex, and Nottingham. Officials said the cases were linked and connected to travel in southern Africa.
The new variant was first reported from South Africa on Wednesday, with early evidence suggesting it has a higher re-infection risk.
Mr Johnson said: "Our scientists are learning more hour by hour, and it does appear that Omicron spreads very rapidly and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated."
He added: "We need to slow down the spread of this variant here in the UK, because measures at the border can only ever minimise and delay the arrival of a new variant rather than stop it all together."
The prime minister said the new measures would be reviewed in three weeks, by which time they should have better information about the "continuing effectiveness" of vaccines.
The prime minister said the "tightening up" of the mask rules will be outlined by Health Secretary Sajid Javid "in the next day or so". He did not indicate when PCR tests would begin and in a press release the Department of Health only said it was among the measures being "introduced from next week".
BBC NEWS
