AN Andover councillor has spoken out “in favour” of new Covid measures which come back into place yesterday (Tuesday, November 30).

The government announced at the weekend (Saturday 27) that it would be tightening restrictions in response to the new Omicron variant, which has been detected in the UK over the past week.

Boris Johnson ordered the return of mandatory mask-wearing in shops and on public transport, and for contacts of Omicron cases to self-isolate, even if they are vaccinated.

Cllr Luigi Gregori (Liberal Democrats) told the Advertiser that he is “all in favour” of the new rules and residents “have a public duty” to protect those around him.

He said: “Personally I have been wearing a mask in shops and places like the Chantry Centre, even though I have got a booster.

“I do feel that we all have a public duty to protect not just ourselves but other people as well.

“We also need to bear in mind that other countries in the United Kingdom or nations like Scotland and Wales have had much tougher rules for example on mask wearing.

“With this new variant we are not sure where it will take us and potentially it looks like its going to be a major threat.

“I am therefore all in favour of the new rules.”

Boris Johnson said the new mask and testing measures would “buy us time in the face of this new variant”.

On top of this people arriving in the UK from abroad will now also have to take a PCR test and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.

Cllr Gergori added: “I always intend on visiting my mother who lives in Italy and I think the issue really is the government should make it a lot easier to have these tests.

“I do not understand why we can not rely on national health service to provide them and the problem is the rules keep changing on a regular bases.

“There is quite a variation in how competent these tests are so i think the government needs to be doing a lot more.”

He said he would be “disappointed” at anyone who ignores the new rules.

In an attempt to slow the spread, the Prime Minister announced that the “temporary and precautionary” measures will be reviewed in three weeks, alongside a “boost” to the booster campaign.

Mr Johnson said: “We need to take targeted and proportionate measures as a precaution while we find out more.

"We need to buy time for our scientists to understand exactly what we’re dealing with, and for us to get more people vaccinated, and above all to get more people boosted.”

The effectiveness of vaccines against Omicron is unclear.