As spiraling cases of the Covid-19 variant of the micron omicron loom over this holiday season, tighter restrictions are being looked at around the globe.

Several curbs were already in place across Europe.

The Netherlands entered full lockdown from SundayUntil mid-January only essential shops and supermarkets were open. Schools across the country were closed. A person cannot have more than one visitor over the 13-year-old age limit per day. This will change between Dec. 24, and Dec. 26, when it will increase to four.

Germany will allow only German residents, German citizens, and German transit passengers to enter from the U.K. starting Monday. Inbound travelers must also quarantine for 14 consecutive days regardless of whether they have been immunized. Arrivals from France, Norway, Denmark and Denmark were subject to travel restrictions.

Austria’s entry will be restricted to those who are vaccinated starting Monday. France already bans travel from the U.K.

Ireland announced a curfew of 8 pm for all bars, restaurants and theatres in Ireland. This will be enforced from Monday to Jan. 30.

On Wednesday, Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain will be meeting with leaders from other regions to discuss measures that can be taken in order to contain violence over the next few weeks. According to reports, Italian leaders will also discuss further restrictions on Thursday.

Ministers in the U.K. are refusing to allow any further restrictions on Christmas. Sky News’ Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister, said Monday that he could not give “hard and fast” guarantees that no stricter measures will be implemented.

Current rules include Covid passes to certain events and indoor face masks. It is also possible to work from home if you have the opportunity.

After several days of high infection rates last week, 82866 Covid-19-related cases were also reported in the U.K. The number of cases is increasing sharply in London, where they are roughly doubling every two days.

Concerns are being raised about hospital capacity due to the high number of patients in Britain and other countries.

Holger Schmieding Berenberg Chief Economic Economist, stated that even if the booster shots reduce medical risk, Omicron rapid spread could overburden healthcare systems and cause countries to follow the Netherlands’ economic damaging policies.

Berenberg predicts that if such restrictions are widespread, there will be a 1 percent quarterly decline in U.K. and eurozone GDPs in the first quarter 2022 instead of modest growth.

The world has increased its capabilities to produce, improve and mass-produce vaccines. Schmieding stated that this should allow Omicron to be contained eventually but only after there is a serious medical emergency.

He said that after restrictions have been reduced, pent-up spending will likely be released based on past pandemic-era trends. Signs that global supply shortfalls are decreasing could signal a manufacturing recovery, partially offset by the omicron threat beyond the first months of 2022.

On Sunday in the United States, Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Officer of President Joe Biden, urged people to travel with caution, get booster shots and wear masks as the virus is raging across the nation and could overwhelm the health care system.

New York and Washington have both posted record-breaking daily casesloads over consecutive days.

On Monday, Israeli ministers agreed to prohibit travel to the U.S.A., Canada and Germany.

However, experts stress that the death and hospitalization figures have not yet shown that this variant is any more deadly than others.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb (ex-FDA Commissioner, Pfizer board member) tweeted: “In South Africa we’re seeing thankfully a striking disconnect between new Covid patients and ICU admissions & deaths.”

It is not clear if #Omicron is less viral, if this positive finding is due to baseline immunity or a mixture of both.