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The new coronavirus variant could be particularly bad news for universities

The Westminster government has announced that a range of new restrictions will come into force this week as it attempts to stem the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, first identified in South Africa last week and now being detected in countries around the world.

At a press conference on Saturday, prime minister Boris Johnson announced that everyone entering the UK from outside the British Isles would have to take a PCR test by the end of the second day and self-isolate until they received a negative result. All those who have had contact with an Omicron case must self-isolate, even if they are fully vaccinated.