There is no need to cancel events because of the new covid-19 variant, the health secretary Sajid Javid has reassured the public.

Speaking this morning (1 Dec) Javid said people should not be thinking about cancelling events and Christmas parties.

He did urge that people should consider taking lateral flow tests (LFTs) before going to large indoor events.

Despite new tougher measures on mask wearing in shops and on public transport introduced yesterday (29 November) to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, the health secretary insisted people should not change their plans at this stage.

He did however urge people to “be sensible” and said he would take a lateral flow test (LFT) before attending any large gatherings.

On BBC Breakfast Javid said, “ I don’t think people need to change their plans.”

“We should always be a bit cautious. It might be a bit sensible depending on the type of event you are going to and the setting to take an LFT test before you go but this is guidance that is already out there.”

Javid also said that new rules requiring people to wear facemasks in shops and some other settings could be relaxed sooner than 21 December review planned by the government.

Speaking on Sky News Javid said, “It might take longer than three weeks it might be sooner. We are confident that maybe within two weeks we will know a lot more about this. We might not even need to wait three weeks. I think in a couple of weeks we will know a lot more about this variant.”