British Government Takes Temporary Measures to Keep "Omicron" at Bay 

The British government confirmed that it has taken temporary and preventive measures to prevent the spread of the new "Omicron" mutant of the Coronavirus (known also as COVID-19) in the United Kingdom (UK).

Sources familiar with the government indicated that they will enter into force as of Tuesday.

The sources stated - according to a statement published on the official website of the British government, that face masks will be mandatory in stores and other places such as banks, post offices, and hairdressers, as well as on public transport unless inpiduals are exempted from that.

All travelers arriving in the UK will be required to take a PCR test on or before the second day of arrival and self-isolate until they have a negative test result.

While the chief scientific adviser to the British government, Patrick Vallance, suggested, last Saturday, the possibility of producing a vaccine; to protect people against the new variant of the Coronavirus "Omicron" in less than a hundred days.

Sir Vallance said - in statements reported by the Irish newspaper (The Journal) - that vaccine makers are already looking into how to make vaccines more effective against emerging variants, noting that it is possible to produce a vaccine for the new variant of Corona in about a hundred days.

He explained that there are two companies already that can modify their current vaccines and obtain a new vaccine specifically against this new variant in about a hundred days.

Vallance stressed the importance of boosting vaccines, stressing that as the vaccine continues to be boosted, the levels of antibodies become very high, and then in fact lead to sufficient coverage of other variables to prove a large degree of effectiveness in protecting against the virus.

Scientists along with the government have expressed concern about the emergence of the "B.1.1.529" strain, as this new type contains a large number of mutations and has the potential to spread very quickly.

It is noteworthy that the number of daily infections in the most affected countries in Africa has increased tenfold since the beginning of the month.