THE government will keep face mask rules in place until the new year in an attempt to avoid tougher restrictions in the lead up to Christmas.

New rules designed to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus will see travellers having to take a pre-departure test before travelling to England from Tuesday.

All travellers will be required to take a Covid-19 pre-departure test, amid warnings that the time between infection and infectiousness could be shorter with the new strain.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid cautioned the variant was spreading within communities, rather than just being linked to international travel.

Emergency laws were brought in last week until December 21, in an attempt to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

However, it is thought laws regarding wearing face masks on public transport and shops will be in place longer, at least until January 11.

What restrictions are in place?

Ministers set a three-week deadline to review the rules brought in last week, giving scientists more time to analyse the Omicron virus.

Travel regulations have also changed and are expected to be extended. These changes include pre-departure tests and a compulsory 10-day quarantine for anyone in close contact with an Omricon case.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hoping to avert the need for stricter restrictions, reassuring people that Christmas is still on.

He has resisted implementing "plan B" which sees people working from home and the widespread use of vaccine passports.

What has been said on ‘Plan B’

A Whitehall source told MailOnline: “In terms of Plan B, we are not there yet. The ambition is that people can have a much more normal Christmas than last year.

“That depends on what the data shows about the new variant. But certainly, the hope is that things stay as they are in the next couple of weeks.”

Professor Paul Hunter, from the school of medicine at the University of East Anglia said there is concern Omricon "is spreading more quickly than the Delta variant".

He added: “How it’s likely to spread in the UK still uncertain, but I think the early signs are that it will probably spread quite quickly and probably start outcompeting Delta and become the dominant variant probably within the next weeks or a month or so at least.

“The big remaining question is actually how harmful it is if you do get Covid with this Omicron variant, and that’s the question that we’re struggling to answer at the moment.”

Why Christmas shouldn’t be ‘under threat’

However, when asked about Christmas, he said: “The thing about Christmas Day itself is that when we meet with our families, we actually interact with fewer people over the Christmas break than we do in our normal working week.

“Often respiratory viruses like Covid spread less rapidly through society while we’re on our Christmas break than they do at other times… So personally, I don’t think the primary focus of the Christmas break where you meet with your family on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, is under threat.

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