SCOTLAND announced today that it will close nightclubs from next week to fight the spread of Covid-19 as Britain sees record case numbers fuelled by the new Omicron variant.

The Scottish government, which makes decisions on virus curbs independently of the central government in London, said nightclubs would have to close from 5am on Monday “to tackle the transmission of Omicron, which continues to spread rapidly”.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the closure of nightclubs would come along with financial support to help them “weather what we hope will be a short period until they are able to operate normally again”.

He added that nightclubs could remain open if they only provided table service and had social distancing measures.

The UK on Wednesday reported a record 106,122 new infections in the last 24 hours. The country is one of Europe’s most affected by the virus with a death toll of 147,573.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned Scotland could face a “tsunami of infections” and announced measures including a limit of 500 people at outdoor events from December 26, hitting sports fixtures.

Other UK nations Wales and Northern Ireland have also tightened virus curbs, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson has opted not to introduce tougher restrictions in England ahead of Christmas.

But two studies from Britain show Covid infections with Omicron are less likely to result in hospital admission compared with the Delta variant.

More than 30 million people in the UK have received booster jabs as Johnson has set the ambitious goal of offering one to everyone over 18 by the end of the year. – AFP, December 23, 2021.