Party-goers urged not to travel across UK as omicron surges

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Officials have warned revellers in Scotland and Wales to think twice before travelling to England to ring in the new year, highlighting how the four parts of the U.K. are again taking starkly different approaches to coronavirus restrictions amid record high infections and soaring hospitalizations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resisted tightening restrictions in England despite the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Meanwhile Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland imposed new restrictions this week that closed all nightclubs and limited social gathering. Opinions are divided on whether Johnson’s Conservative government was taking a risky gamble in not enforcing tougher coronavirus measures in England. Daily cases in the U.K. another record high of 189,846 on Friday.