Regardless of the official rules, Omicron is hurting hospitality | Larry Elliott

Omicron's arrival highlights how each wave of Covid-19 embeds structural changes in the way the economy works

Christmas parties are being cancelled. Restaurants are reporting an increase in the number of diners' no-shows. The first tentative signs of the impact of the Omicron variant on the economy are starting to emerge.

True, the relatively modest drop in the number of diners in the week up to 29 November might have had as much to do with the storm Arwen as with consumers taking fright at the possibility of a new wave of the pandemic.