The possibility of introducing new restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus could be considered by UK ministers as early as Monday, according to The Guardian.

Amid a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases and with the new Omicron strain of the virus increasingly manifest across England, ministers will reportedly gather to assess several scenarios modelled for government scientists by the University of Warwick.

Documents published by the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), a government advisory group acting alongside the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), was published online on 24 December.

1,544,600 people in England tested positive for COVID-19 last week, with the surge in infections affecting all age groups and the Omicron variant also increasingly registered across England.