indeed stress at this stage is that the same measures that have worked against previous strains of this virus will also help us curb any transmission of this new variant. if in recent weeks we have been sticking a bit less vigorously to all the public health advice which is entirely understandable and i am sure we are all in a position to a greater or lesser extent, now is a time to start following all of that advice vigorously again. everyone of us can make a difference in protecting ourselves and each other step but we just end with a reminder of what all of us can do and what it is really important all of us do do at this stage. these steps are now vital so i am asking everybody not to see this as optional. firstly get vaccinated, it is the single most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and each other, second leak test for covid regularly. we will be increasing testing in areas
where the new variant has been identified but for all of us were evenif identified but for all of us were even if we are feeling fine, regular lateral flow testing is really important way of finding out if we might the virus. so on any occasion that you are intending to socialise or mix of people from other households, whether in a pub, restaurant, house or even a shopping centre, please do an lf t test, you can get kits online or pick them up for local pharmacies. they are free so get as many as you need and keep your supply topped up. finally comply with all of the existing protections. where face coverings on public transport, shops, and whenever you are moving about in hospitality settings, keep windows open if you have people in your house to improve ventilation because we know that helps. follow all of the advice on hygiene, time to go back rigorous to washing our hands, cleaning surfaces and please work from home right now if you can. the economy secretary will be meeting busine
before mixing socially with people from other households. we are also reminding people to work from home if possible as of today, i am asking employers to ensure they are maximising the potential of home working. however this may be and there is likely to be a fast moving situation, so our response will be kept under close review as we learn more about the risk omicron poses anti nature of transmission in scotland. a key part of our initial response will be to continue to identify cases as quickly as we can and where possible after that break the chains of transmission. to that end additional testing will be undertaken in areas where cases have been identified. our local response will complement the uk wide travel restrictions that aim to avoid importing new cases where we are trying to care community transmission. even with cases already here it is really important to do what we can to prevent new seeding of the variant
to take a lateral flow test. if you are planning on going anywhere from the uk anytime soon, it is worth checking the rules at your destination because as we have been hearing, an increasing number of countries has been increasing their restrictions, for example, from wednesday, spain is saying that anyone arriving into spain from the uk, who is over 12 will have to prove they have been vaccinated. switzerland is going further. uk arrivals will have to self isolate for ten days. meanwhile, some brits are still trying to get home from the southern african countries which are now on the uk s red list. some of them have been saying they are struggling to book into government approved hotel quarantine facilities on the day their flight arrives. the government is advising travellers to keep checking back regularly or try to book for a different date. it says it will be increasing the capacity available for hotel quarantine. capacity available for hotel uuarantine. ., ~ ., ., quarantine. th
comparing their pcr results if you get three genes positive it is not the omicron paris but if it s too genes positive than it is and you can only do this by pcr. the lateral flow tests will not tell you that. i tested positive for covid 19 on sunday. my question is, how will i know what variant of covid i have? do they tell us? how long before they tell us? i hope your symptoms are mild and thinking good care of yourself as you recover. i am thinking good care of yourself as you recover. iam assuming thinking good care of yourself as you recover. i am assuming when he says he has done a positive result he means to pcr as a building on what claire hasjust he means to pcr as a building on what claire has just sent the results will show if you have a suspected omicron case and he will be told that when you get your test results. now if you are told by contact trace is that you do have a suspected omicron case then you and all your close contacts have to isolate immediately. whether you