The government is said to be drafting much stricter plans to reduce the transmission of the Omicron variant (Pictures: Getty; PA)

The Government is said to be drafting much stricter plans to reduce the transmission of the Omicron variant (Pictures: Getty; PA)

Pubs and restaurants in England could be forced to close their doors again if a Covid-19 ‘Plan D’ is implemented to curb the steep rise of Omicron cases, it’s claimed.


As the crisis worsens ahead of Christmas, the Government is said to be drawing up a raft of more stringent potential measures, which could see this year’s festivities looking more similar to those in 2020.


Boris Johnson confirmed on Wednesday that ‘Plan B’ rules will be imposed across the country, affecting millions of people.


Restrictions include mandatory face coverings in most indoor settings – including cinemas and theatres – and a U-turn on working-from-home advice.


But according to Whitehall insiders, cited by the Sunday Mirror, ministers are now considering a ‘Plan C’ – and an even more drastic ‘Plan D’.


It was already feared that the current rules may be replaced with a ‘Plan C’, which may include extending the use of vaccine passports to pubs and restaurants, where face masks would be required again.


Under ‘Plan D’, hospitality firms would allegedly only be allowed to serve outdoors.


But this would allegedly develop into a complete closure if Omicron infections continue to soar.




The government will from Monday tighten virus restrictions in England as Omicron variant cases surge, including guidance to work from home and mandatory Covid passports (Picture: AFP)

Virus restrictions will be tightened in England on Monday as Omicron variant cases surge (Picture: AFP)


The prime minister has refused to rule out a Christmas lockdown (Picture: AP)

The prime minister ‘cancelled’ Christmas for millions last year (Picture: AP)

It comes as the number of cases of the ‘highly-transmittable’ variant rises by 1,239 in just one day across the UK.


Earlier this week, experts warned that even an optimistic scenario could see a peak of more than 2,000 daily hospital admissions, with ‘175,000 hospital admissions and 24,700 deaths between December 1 this year and April 30, 2022’.


A Health Department source told the Mirror: ‘If you follow the science, we should really be doing Plan C now. The PM is gambling with the NHS to save his leadership.


‘But we all know the PM can’t let anything hit Christmas. That really did him damage last time round. To do it again would be killer.’


Parliament will debate the measures next week, with a vote to take place on Tuesday.


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