British Queen cancels pre-Christmas family lunch

Thursday, December 16th 2021 - 19:20 UTC

Full article

The United Kingdom has recorded 78,610 new COVID-19 infections in one day Wednesday

British Queen Elizabeth II has called off her traditional pre-Christmas family lunch as a precaution against COVID-19, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday.

In recent months, the 95-year-old monarch has been forced to cancel several events and reduce her workload on the advice of her physicians, who suggested she should take a rest.

The Queen, who remains in Windsor Castle, will not receive her relatives, including her cousins, to the lunch that she was going to celebrate next Tuesday, after the government's new restrictions facing the Omicron variant.

This event is on the sidelines of the luncheon that the 95-year-old Queen celebrates with her immediate family on Christmas Day at the Sandringham residence in eastern England.

The Queen has already canceled her participation at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, last month November, and at the memorial service for those who died in World War I in Central London.

The United Kingdom has recorded 78,610 new COVID-19 infections in one day Wednesday, thus surpassing Jan. 8's 68,053 cases.

“The decision is a precautionary one as it is felt to put too many people’s Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead.

“While there is regret that it is canceled, there is a belief it is the right thing to do for all.”

England’s chief medical officer warned people on Wednesday not to mix with others unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas after Britain recorded its most daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.