Scotland closes nightclubs to face Omicron

The Scottish Government today ordered the closure of nightclubs from Monday to limit the resurgence of infections caused by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom.

The measure will be applied to about 150 discos, which will be able to remain open for the service of seated people, if they wish, and will be reviewed after three weeks, the government said in a statement. He had already announced restrictions on rallies from next week and canceled New Year celebrations.

Faced with a spectacular resurgence of Covid-19 cases, the United Kingdom (over 147,000 dead) yesterday, Wednesday, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic exceeded the limit of 100,000 cases recorded in 24 hours. The number of hospitalizations is starting to increase, especially in London.

Each nation of the country is responsible for its own health issues. Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have so far announced tougher restrictions.

As for England, the government of Boris Johnson is holding a wait-and-see attitude, based mainly on two studies published yesterday, Wednesday, that show a lower risk of hospitalization with the Omicron variant than in the Delta, which until recently was dominant.

Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, who conducted one of these studies, warned, however, that this reduction in risk was offset by a reduction in the effectiveness of Omicron vaccines.

Given the very strong contagion and therefore the very large number of cases, there is a risk that this will put pressure on hospital services.

British Health Minister Sajid Javid called the studies “encouraging”, but warned that “there could be a significant number of hospitalizations”.

The minister confirmed that the British government does not plan to announce restrictions before Christmas.

The government, however, is counting on the extensive booster campaign, which is being carried out at an unprecedented rate. At present it has only restored the use of masks indoors, recommends teleworking and enforces the use of sanitary pads at large events and nightclubs.

In the face of the huge number of cases, which disrupt the operation of hospitals, lead to train cancellations or the closure of restaurants and theaters, it has reduced from 10 to 7 days the isolation period of infected people, provided they have a negative test.

Source: AMPE