A PUB landlord said the government has left covid plans to the eleventh hour as government is set to make an announcement.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a coronavirus press conference at 6pm, a No 10 spokeswoman has said.

The Prime Minister is believed to be considering measures including guidance to work from home and the introduction of domestic vaccine passports for events and large venues.

Downing Street sources insisted “no decisions have been made” but there is widespread speculation that further measures could be imminent.

It will throw many people's Christmas plans into turmoil and could impact on the hospitality industry which were affected by lockdowns last year.

Jon Dean, the Alma Tavern's CEO, questioned why everything was being left to the eleventh hour.

"Why have we got to wait until the eleventh hour again when the smallest thing to have done would have been for face coverings to have come in in autumn or at the end of summer?

Who actually is against doing face coverings if we have a winter where the NHS is able to cope?

"Last winter there was virtually no flu season because of distancing and face coverings.

"Why have we got to this point when we may begin facing even more draconian measures?"

Mr Dean and the team at the Alma kept running through subsequent lockdowns by offering takeaways and vists from Alma Bear.

One reason for the rapid shift towards Plan B could be figures from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) panel which suggested at least 1,000 people a day could need hospital treatment for Omicron by the end of the year without restrictions.

Leaked minutes of a Sage meeting held on Tuesday said the Government should “urgently” consider the need for measures to reduce transmission of the virus and protect the NHS from “unsustainable pressure”, the BBC reported.

The peak of the Omicron wave is “highly likely to be higher” than 1,000 to 2,000 variant- related admissions per day without new rules, the document said.