LONDON (Reuters – Britain’s health Minister stated Monday that Omicron coronavirus is being transmitted in communities across England. But it was too early to tell if this would “knock us off the road to recovery”.

Sajid Javid, who defended the introduction stricter rules in order to reduce the spread, said that parliament was not “leaving anything to chance” during the time scientists evaluated the variant. The virus was first identified in South Africa last month.

Javid stated that there are currently 261 Omicron cases across England, 71% in Scotland, and 4 in Wales. This makes a total number of 336.

Javid stated that this includes those cases without links to international travel. Therefore, we can conclude that there is community transmission in multiple parts of England.

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said Monday there were no new restrictions currently required to deal with Omicron but refused to rule any further measures out before Christmas.

Britain’s inbound travelers will all need to pass a COVID-19 before departing, while those arriving from Nigeria and South Africa will need to be quarantined in hotels in order to stop the spread.

International quarantine rooms will have double the number of available hotel rooms this week, Javid stated.

Javid indicated that the government can’t “say for sure” at this time whether Omicron will survive COVID vaccines or if it causes more severe illnesses.