MINISTERS have been urged to scrap any Covid restrictions for the new year as it emerged Omicron is up to 70 per cent less likely to hospitalize people than Delta.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the encouraging news, telling families they can enjoy Christmas safely for now, without the threat of tougher restrictions.

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There was a record 119,789 new Covid cases yesterday – with the total of Omicron infections now at 90,906.

There have been almost a quarter of a million more cases in the past seven days than the week before. But the latest studies showed that the risk of hospitalization with the new variant was 50 to 70 percent lower than with Delta.

Figures from Britain's Health Security Agency confirmed reports from Imperial College London and Edinburgh University that tensions were milder. A health official said: “Given that South Africa, Denmark, Scotland and England are all reporting similar findings, we are moving in one direction.”

Scientists and ministers said they were still waiting for data on how the new variant would affect people over 40 – and stood ready to take more action within days if necessary.

Sources say the virus behaves differently from Delta and infects cells in other parts of the respiratory tract, which could make it less deadly. But they warned that the huge number of cases could still lead to a major wave of hospital admissions

The UKHSA study found boosters were essential for preventing infection with Omicron, but warned that protection started to wane after around ten weeks.

Thousands flocked to The Sun Jabs Army's Big Boost event at Wembley Arena yesterday – where ex-Towie star and now trained vaccinator Bobby Norris gave Love Island's Sharon Gafka a jab.

Professor Andrew Hayward, a member of Sage and a virologist at University College London, said of Omicron's findings: “It's undeniably good news, but we're certainly not out of the woods.

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“I think we might be able to downgrade this from a hurricane to a very severe storm.” He also suggested that any curbs would not be necessary for as long as before as the Omicron wave showed signs of a rapid peak in South Africa.

Despite stricter rules for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from Boxing Day, The Sun understands no decisions on England will be made until at least next week.

Downing Street believes there is room for cautious optimism as millions of people cut off contacts so they can be with their loved ones at Christmas.

A government source said: “There is nothing at the moment that warrants more restrictions, but we are continuously monitoring it.

“It is better to wait for the data and be certain of the need to be stricter than to act early and disproportionately.”

Parliament could be recalled as soon as Monday to introduce sweeping new rules if ministers think the situation has changed, but last night MPs urged the Prime Minister to keep his nerve.

Tory backbencher Michael Fabricant told The Sun: “Boris must stand firm and ignore Labour's insults to 'provide certainty now' to businesses for New Year's celebrations.

“If the government follows their advice, they will have to play it safe and impose strict restrictions.”

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith added: “All the data is moving in the right direction. The government has made the right decisions despite attempts to bully.”

Labor leaders were left isolated in their call for further restrictions – after Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham backed the Prime Minister's position.

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Talking about the JN.1 sub-variant of Omicron, Maharashtra reported 10 cases till Saturday.

Maharashtra COVID-19 cases: The number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra reached 172 on Saturday, with zero fatalities, the health department said. These new coronavirus infections indicate an upward trend in the state for weeks.

In the week of December 24 to 30, there were 620 cases, compared to the previous week, December 17 to 24, when only 103 infections were recorded. 19 cases were reported each from December 3 to 9 and from December 10 to 16.

Talking about the JN.1 sub-variant of Omicron, Maharashtra reported 10 cases till Saturday. These cases came from the cities of Thane, Pune and Akola, and the districts of Pune and Sindhudurg.

Omicron XBB.1.16 is a dominant variant of COVID-19 and a total of 1,972 cases have been reported, according to the health department.

In terms of national figures, India reported a decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases, with 743 new infections, which is 54 fewer than the day before. Now the country is dealing with 3,997 active conditions.

Since COVID-19 emerged on the scene in January 2020, India has been hit by as many as 4,50,12,484 cases.

Additionally, the country has reported a total of 145 cases of the COVID-19 subvariant JN.1 as of December 28.

These cases were discovered in samples collected between November 21 and December 18, 2023. The JN.1 subvariant is derived from the Omicron subvariant known as BA.2.86 or Pirola, with Kerala being the first state to report a case.