By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s Health Minister Sajid Javid refused to rule out further COVID-19 restrictions prior Christmas. He said that the Omicron variant spread very quickly and there was no way of preventing it from spreading.

Britain experienced a sudden increase in Omicron coronavirus-related cases Saturday. However, government officials said that this was only the tip of an iceberg. London’s Mayor declared a major incident to assist the hospitals.

Javid answered BBC Television when asked if he would rule out any restrictions prior to Christmas.

There are no guarantees with this pandemic, I think. We just need to review everything at this stage.”

Javid stated that the government is taking “sobering” advice from its scientists very seriously and was monitoring the data “almost every hourly” to balance it against the wider impact of restrictions on businesses, education and other areas.

He stated that Omicron still has a lot to learn, but that it might be too late for Omicron to respond to the information once it is more clear.

Boris Johnson and more than 100 other Conservative legislators voted against government’s new measures to combat the spread COVID-19. Johnson faces his biggest crisis after years of scandals, missteps, and is now facing his worst ever premiership.

Javid was asked if Johnson felt too weak to implement further restrictions. “No, that is not the case. If the government feels that additional action must be taken, we will present it to parliament. It would then be up to the parliament to make the decision.”

As of Friday’s 1800 GMT, nearly 25,000 Omicron-related cases had been reported in the United Kingdom. That is an increase of more than 10,000 cases compared to 24 hours before, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

According to official data, Saturday’s total number of new COVID-19 case reports was 90 418. The seven-day period ending Dec. 18, saw an increase of 44.4% in the number of reported cases compared to last week.

Javid claimed that approximately 60% of COVID-19 new cases in England are now Omicron.

Sadiq Khan, London’s Mayor, stated that he believed new restrictions were necessary to ensure the safety of the public health system.