Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed on Thursday that there would be no further restrictions before Christmas and said there were no plans for any announcements on post-Christmas curbs this week.
“We’re clear that there’s no need for any further restrictions of any type before Christmas but of course we will keep the situation under review,” Javid said, adding that there would be no post-Christmas restrictions announced this week.
Javid said people “should enjoy their Christmases with their families and their friends” but “of course, remain cautious”.
He said the situation would be kept under review as the government continues to learn more from “new data”.
“We will keep analysing that data and if we need to do anything more we will, but nothing more is going to happen before Christmas,” he said.
The news came as studies from Imperial College and Edinburgh University suggested that people who test positive with Omicron are less likely to end up in hospital that those with the Delta variant.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is due to report its findings on Omicron later in the day.
