In the United Kingdom, the omicron coronavirus variant is rapidly spreading. On Saturday, there were 90,418 cases of COVID-19 in the UK. There were 125 deaths after a coronavirus test was positive.
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, promised that he would not shut down the country. However, it is looking increasingly unlikely that he will be able to fulfill that promise. According to 10 Downing Street, a 10-day lockdown on Boxer Day (December 26th) is becoming more likely.
Although the omicron variant of the virus is less deadly than the alpha and delta variants, it is still alarming due to its rapid spread.
The Netherlands has already secured its borders. The shocking announcement made by Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, on Saturday caught the nation completely by surprise.
The Netherlands closed its Christmas markets and put people’s plans on hold as it began a lockdown to limit an anticipated COVID-19 increase.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte ordered the sudden shutdown of all stores except the most important, restaurants, hairdressers, and gyms. The closure will continue until Sunday, January 14.
The unionized workforce looked to government friends for help.
What happened to the phrase “We are all in this together”
The problem is the speed at which the omicron virus variant moves. According to, infections in areas with community spread are increasing by 1.5 to 3 times per day. Even though the vaccine provides partial protection, hospitals will soon be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people infected.
Lockdowns have not been proven to be effective in preventing diseases. It’s also debatable whether they actually slow down the spread of the virus. If you are at risk of serious illness, take the necessary precautions and avoid contact with others until the wave passes.
However, that is not enough for most governments. European lockdowns will occur, but not here in the U.S. Biden is aware that the people won’t tolerate it and that the economy can’t handle it.
Biden will talk on Tuesday night about the omicron variant, and assure us that he is handling the problem. Biden will take dramatic steps, but they won’t accomplish much. He will urge schools to remain open even though his teacher’s union friends are trying to close them down.
One blessing is the fact that it seems that the omicron variant of the virus is moving so fast that it will eventually run out of people to infect, and then die. This would be the most efficient COVID-19 mitigation strategy and the government wouldn’t have to do anything.