i see the opposition calling for, you know, lock at all down, predeparture tests, pile the costs on the traveller. i don t want us to go back to the bad old days, so we have a calibrated response, which is an up to date pcr test which, by the way, you can do at the airport or as you are on your way home. now pre departure testing has arrived as the new variant of the virus spreads. we have also decided to require pre departure tests, that s for all inward travellers that will be effective from 4:00am on tuesday, and will be required a maximum of 48 hours before the departure time. we have been clear that we will take action if it is necessary, but it s important that while we are introducing these new border measures today, to remember that vaccinations, remember, they are our first line of defence, and the booster programme, the expansion of the booster programme, is hugely important. from monday, nigeria will be
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now, pre departure testing has arrived as the new variant of the virus spreads. we have also decided to require pre departure tests. that s for all inward travellers. that will be affective from 4am on tuesday and they will be required a maximum of 48 hours before the departure time. we ve been clear that we will take action if it is necessary. but it is important that, whilst we are introducing these new border measures today, that to remember that vaccinations, remember, they are our first line of defence and the booster programme, the expansion of the booster programme, is hugely important. from monday, nigeria will be added to the red list. only uk citizens will be able to enter the country from nigeria and they ll have to pay to quarantine on arrival. the problem is there might not be
of a threat is omicron really. we are told that new variants are going to continue to emerge, the more that the virus spreads and evolves in our bodies, the more mutations arise. there have been thousands of variants over the last two years, and most have not become variants of concern or of interest, but omicron has raised red flags because of the dozens of mutations on its spike protein. take a look here. remember, this is the part of the virus that not only allows it to get into your cells, but also what your antibodies are actually targeting. we know that this variant is already dominant in south africa causing a rise in cases there, but we don t know if it s going to ride the same size wave as previous variants. in the middle of the screen beta was the dominant strain at one time in south are africa, but it did not take hold in the united states. remember that. we are told most people have had mild illness, but at the same time hospitalizations are rising in quatang province.
i want to start by asking you the question, i think i ve asked you pretty much the beginning of every one of these town halls where are we at this moment. yeah, you know, the thing is what we know is that omicron is yet another wake-up call to remind us that while we would like to be done with this pandemic, it s not quite done with us. i mean, that s the truth. the big question now is how big of a threat is omicron really. we are told that new variants are going to continue to emerge, the more that the virus spreads and evolves in our bodies, the more mutations arise. there have been thousands of variants over the last two years, and most have not become variants of concern or of interest, but omicron has raised red flags because of the dozens of mutations on its spike protein. take a look here. remember, this is the part of the virus that not only allows it to get into your cells, but also what your antibodies are