People will soon need to have three vaccinations against the Covid-19 virus to be accepted as fully vaccinated, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on TV on Tuesday.

Many cruise lines require full vaccination against the pandemic virus as a condition of carriage. As per Tuesday, 59.8% of the UK population over the age of 12 had received their third, booster jab.

Johnson said that instead of lockdowns and other restrictive measures including discouraging travel, the government in London would resort to other ways to tackle the Omicron variant that is spreading rapidly. 

However, although the numbers of both infections and hospitalisations have increased in the recent past, the numbers of deaths relating to the virus have remained stable at a low level - a significant difference from a year ago, when also deaths tracked infections higher.

It should be noted that the devolved governments in Cardiff (Wales), Edinburgh (Scotland) and Belfast (Northern Ireland) have the power to set their own rules regarding measures against the virus.