A two-week ‘circuit breaker’ was considered to stop the spread of Omicron

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Under the rules, people will be prohibited from meeting other families indoors immediately after Christmas, The Times reported.

Models suggested that these measures could halve peak hospital admissions that would otherwise break the NHS.

Government advisers have warned that stricter measures will need to be imposed “very soon” to stop hospital admissions reaching 3,000 people a day.

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This includes measures previously seen in the first and second steps of easing lockdown restrictions such as banning indoor mixing and indoor hospitality, BBC reports.

The scientists also warned against postponing the interventions until 2022.

During the Sage meeting, advisors warned that “the timing of such actions is critical. Delaying until 2022 would significantly reduce the effectiveness of such interventions and reduce the potential for these interventions to prevent significant strains on health and care settings.”

The Financial Times claims that Boris Johnson has been offered a number of options under his so-called Plan C, which could range from “moderate guidelines to alerting people, all the way to shutdown”.

The paper quotes the prime minister’s allies who have said he still favors the guidance path – but must also be realistic about the Omicron threat.

A government spokesperson said: “The government will continue to look closely at all emerging data and will keep our measures under review as we learn more about this alternative.”

A Cobra meeting is scheduled over the weekend with the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Stephen Reacher, a professor of social psychology at the University of St Andrews and a Sage member, cautioned that Plan B measures are not enough to stop the growing number of cases.

Speaking to Radio Times on Saturday, he said: “The only way really, or at least the most effective way, that we can have an immediate impact is to reduce the number of contacts we have.

“In many ways, the most effective way to reduce contact is to have a circuit breaker.

“Now, you can have it after Christmas, the problem is that after Christmas it may be too late, perhaps by then we will have a massive wave of infections with all the impact on society.

“When people say ‘Look, we don’t want to shut down’, of course, we don’t want to shut down. But the problem right now, things are shutting down anyway, because of the spread of infection.

“So I think we need to act now.”

Mr Johnson warned that Omicron posed a “very serious threat to us now” as infections and hospitalizations continued to increase.

On a visit to the vaccination center in Hillingdon, west London, on Friday, he said: “We are seeing a big wave coming and people have to be prepared and have to understand what that involves.”

Asked about the conflicting messages from the government and its advisers about social media over the Christmas holidays, Johnson said: “What Chris Whitty and I are saying is that there is a big wave of Omicron coming.

“People need to be wise. You need to think about your risk budget.”

According to the latest government figures, 93,045 laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the UK as of 9am on Friday, the highest daily total recorded since the pandemic began and 4,669 higher than the previous record set on Thursday.

The number of people in hospitals with Covid-19 in London, which has seen some of the biggest spikes in cases in the past seven days, rose to 1,534, up 28.6% from last week.

The government dashboard showed that 341 more people with Covid were hospitalized in the capital on December 17, up from 1,193 on December 10.

Across the UK, there are 7,611 people in hospital with the virus, an increase of 163 patients (2%) from the previous week.

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