BRUSSELS (AP) -- As omicron spreads ever more gloom around the globe ahead of New Year's Eve, governments are moving at different speeds to contain the scourge, with some reimposing restrictions immediately and others hesitating to spoil the party again.
In Britain, where the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus has sent caseloads soaring to record highs, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Monday no further restrictions will be introduced in England before the new year. New daily infections in England are hovering around 100,000, and hospital admissions were up more than 70 percent on Christmas from a week earlier.
"When we get into the new year, of course, we will see then if we do need to take any further measures, but nothing more until then, at least," Javid said.
Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, though, nightclubs have been ordered closed and limits on gatherings imposed in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, leaving the country divided in its approach to the crisis.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, has already shut down all nonessential stores, restaurants and bars and extended the school holidays in what largely amounts to a new lockdown. In Belgium, new measures went into effect Monday and over the weekend: Shopping in large groups was banned, and movie theaters and concert halls closed in the middle of the holiday season.
In France, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a set of restrictions set to kick in next week, after New Year's. Among them: Big events will be limited to 2,000 people indoors and 5,000 outdoors; eating and drinking will be banned in theaters, at sports venues and on public transportation; and working from home will be mandatory at least three days a week for employees whose jobs make it possible.
Also, a bill will be voted on in France next month to create a vaccine pass that will allow only inoculated people to enter public places, including restaurants, bars and movie theaters.
The measures come after France recorded more than 100,000 COVID-19 infections in a single day for the first time in the pandemic.
In the U.S., the Biden administration has strongly emphasized the importance of vaccinations, boosters and rapid testing, while New York City's sweeping mandate requiring nearly all businesses, big and small, to bar unvaccinated employees from the workplace took effect Monday. It was announced three weeks ago, soon after omicron gained a foothold in the U.S.
The top U.S. infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned with omicron, "it's going to get worse before it gets better," and he said authorities should seriously consider requiring domestic airline passengers be vaccinated.
"When you make vaccination a requirement, that's another incentive to get more people vaccinated," Fauci told MSNBC.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday cut isolation restrictions for people who have the virus, saying it's in line with the science of when people are most infectious and could also help industries continue to function as cases surge.
"We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told the Associated Press.
Omicron has forced thousands of flight cancellations and delays around the globe because of staffing shortages linked to the virus, scrambling travelers' holiday plans.
FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, counted more than 2,700 cancellations worldwide by Monday evening in Europe -- about 1,100 of them within, into or out of the U.S.
Despite the variant's extraordinary ability to infect people, early indications are that it might cause milder illness than previous versions. That uncertainty is keeping governments guessing and resulting in widely varying strategies for beating back the surge.
In Greece, authorities announced additional restrictions -- also effective after New Year's -- after recording its highest-ever one-day total of new infections, nearly 9,300.
Health Minister Thanos Plevris said starting Jan. 3, high- protection or double masks will be mandatory at supermarkets and on public transportation; entertainment venues will close at midnight, and capacity will be cut to 10 percent at soccer stadiums, among other measures.
Other parts of Europe have likewise hesitated to slap more restrictions on their citizens.
In Poland, a nation of 38 million where the daily death toll now often tops 500, now-closed nightclubs will be allowed to reopen on New Year's Eve, with the government unwilling to go against the will of the many voters opposed to restrictions and mandatory vaccinations.
And despite the highest death toll from COVID-19 in Europe, Russia will ring in the new year with little if any restrictions. Many precautions will be lifted during the holiday period that runs for 10 days starting New Year's Eve. Russia also will not impose any additional travel curbs.
The official Rosstat statistical agency estimated that between April 2020 and October 2021, Russia had 537,000 virus-related deaths.
In Belgium, the move to close theaters and arts centers came in for especially heavy criticism.
"We need it also for our mental health. It is the only way for people to live experiences, to tell stories. It is of paramount importance for us to be open in these complicated and complex times," said Michael De Kok, artistic director of the Flemish Royal Theatre.
Some movie theaters stayed open in an act of civil disobedience.
A major staple of British holiday celebrations, the stream of English Premier League soccer games, is also under threat. The league has called off 15 games over the past 21/2 weeks, and more could follow.
Worshippers and visitors, wearing protective face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, arrive to Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia mosque, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the highly contagious Omicron variant now makes up for more than 10 percent of new cases in the country's crowded provinces. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Shoppers, some wearing face masks to guard against COVID-19, pack Regent Street in London, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. In Britain, where the omicron variant has been dominant for days, government requirements have been largely voluntary and milder than those on the continent, but the Conservative government said it could impose new restrictions after Christmas. (AP Photo/David Cliff)
People wearing protective face masks walk outside a Christmas decorated coffee shop in Psiri district of Athens, on Monday, Dec 27, 2021. Part of new restrictions includes a mask mandate for outdoors and all public areas as the Greek government is expected to announce new measures to contain the spread of the Omicron variant. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
An airport employee cleans the sides of a moving walkway at Miami International Airport, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, in Miami. Thousands of flights worldwide were canceled or delayed on Monday, as airline staffing shortages due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 continued to disrupt the busy holiday travel season. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Shoppers wearing face masks to guard against COVID-19 walk past a sale poster covering a window of department store Selfridges on Oxford Street in London, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. In Britain, where the omicron variant has been dominant for days, government requirements have been largely voluntary and milder than those on the continent, but the Conservative government said it could impose new restrictions after Christmas. (AP Photo/David Cliff)
A woman and child from Brazil wait for their flight underneath a board showing roughly a dozen cancelled flights among the scheduled arrivals, at Miami International Airport, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, in Miami. Thousands of flights worldwide were canceled or delayed on Monday, as airline staffing shortages due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 continued to disrupt the busy holiday travel season. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Flowers lie in a puddle at the foot of the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. In Britain, where the omicron variant has been dominant for days, government requirements have been largely voluntary and milder than those on the continent, but the Conservative government said it could impose new restrictions after Christmas. (AP Photo/David Cliff)
Travelers walk through Miami International Airport, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, in Miami. Thousands of flights worldwide were canceled or delayed on Monday, as airline staffing shortages due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 continued to disrupt the busy holiday travel season. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Pharmacists fill syringes from vials of the Moderna booster vaccine at the Antwerp Expo vaccine center in Antwerp, Belgium on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. In Belgium, many flocked to their local vaccine center to receive their booster shots and stay ahead of the surging omicron infections. Others faced their first real test of the latest COVID-19 measures on Monday, with shopping reduced to a maximum of two along with closures of movie theaters and concert halls. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)