The Omicron variant is already in the UK - likely already in Canada and the US, too.
The problem is, the public's appetite for new controls is probably as close to zero as it's ever been - no one wants to live in this perpetual nightmare anymore.
Yes, it is now more well understood than it was in 2020. But that is a double-edged sword, because familiarity has bred a blase acceptance of it - whereas the unfamiliarity of this new and deadly threat on March 2020 saw adherence to lockdowns and health measures at near-total levels.
The only thing that will spur a similar reaction this time around is a shocking death rate and pictures of coffins being loaded into army vans, as was the case in Italy. And if that's happening, we have already failed at containing this variant.