‘Too late’ to halt spread of Omicron with new rules, Sage scientist says

A Sage professor says the government's omicron precautions is a case of "shutting the stable doors after the horse has bolted".

Prof Mark Woolhouse, of the University of Edinburgh, said the traveller testing measures announced on Saturday by Sajid Javid had come “too late” to make a “material difference” to a potential wave of omicron cases.

Community transmission is already underway in the UK and can be expected to “drive the next wave” and see cases rise from hundreds to thousands, the Sage scientific advisory board member said.

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