UK Secretary for Health, Sajiv Javid, has hinted that the UK government could very quickly remove its curbs on travel, according to Travel Trade Gazette.

The publication reported that the health secretary told the Commons on December 8 that if the Omicron variant of COVID-19, "as is expected", becomes the dominant strain of COVID, "there will be less need to have any kind of travel restrictions at all".

Javid said the existing UK travel curbs were an attempt to "buy time" and "slow any incursion" of the Omicron variant.

"One thing I would say is that very soon, in the days and weeks that lie ahead, if, as I think is likely, we see many more infections and this variant becomes the dominant variant, there will be less need to have any kind of travel restrictions at all."