Omicron Impact, London Residents Fined £200 for Not Wearing a Mask

The government of the British capital, London, has imposed a £200 fine on its citizens if they do not wear masks amidst the current Omicron scare.

This rule applies at subway stations and other public transport in the British capital, London, to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.

The evidence shows the use of masks is the single most effective way to deal with Covid,” Khan said, quoted by the Evening Standard.

The UK has confirmed three cases of the Omicron variant in London, namely in the Wandsworth, Camden and Westminster areas.

Meanwhile, the total number of Omicron cases in the UK to date has reached 11 cases. The British government also said the cases of this variant from Africa would continue to increase, quoted from Reuters.

On Friday (26/11), the UK banned flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini. Not only that, British visitors who return from the six countries are required to quarantine.

The emergence of this Omicron variant has raised concerns in the UK.

“What we know now is that there is a significant number of mutations (of the new variant), maybe twice as many mutations as we have seen previously from the Delta variant,” said Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

And this shows the possibility that it (the new variant) is more infectious and the current vaccine that we have received may be less effective.

Dr Julian Tang, a clinical virologist at the University of Leicester, said: ‘We have been through all of this before with the Alpha and Delta variants. But the main difference is that the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of masks and social distancing has increased – and there is more conviction now amongst scientists that these measures do work to reduce the spread of the virus.’

A paper presented earlier this year by the Environmental Modelling Group found the proportion of Covid cases in the population linked to the virus being spread in shops, hospitality and leisure facilities were ‘relatively low’.