UK-wide lockdown to combat omicron 'cannot be ruled out', says Neil Ferguson

A nationwide lockdown to deal with the threat of the omicron variant cannot be ruled out, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said.

Professor Neil Ferguson, whose data was instrumental to the UK going into lockdown in March 2020, believes the new variant is concerning but is unsure of what the full impact will be.

“If the consensus is it’s highly likely the NHS is going to be overwhelmed, then it will be for the government to decide what they want to do,” Ferguson said, refusing to rule out future lockdowns.

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