Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese time Christmas holidays with eye to 2022 election campaign

Scott Morrison and the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, are both spending Christmas in Sydney but the prime minister is planning to take some leave in January, probably around the middle of the month.

The final summer before a federal election would normally give party leaders a chance to recharge before a hard-fought campaign, but the country faces fresh uncertainty as a result of rapidly rising Covid case numbers and debate about bringing forward vaccine booster shots.

The prime minister would face political risks if seen to clock off during a crisis, evoking memories of his Hawaii holiday during the bushfires two years ago.

Morrison, who has been crisscrossing Australia effectively in election campaign mode in recent weeks, was in Canberra on Wednesday for a previously unscheduled meeting of the national cabinet to discuss how to respond to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

Morrison is returning to Sydney to spend Christmas with his family and his mother, and is expected to remain on duty until some point in January.

There was no word on whether the deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, would be acting as prime minister at that point, given the arrangements are yet to be locked in.

Joyce has said he will be back in Australia in time for Christmas, after isolating in a hotel in Washington DC after a positive Covid test.

The government has said the vaccination of children aged five to 11 is on track to begin as scheduled on 10 January.

Like Morrison, Albanese is planning to spend Christmas in Sydney with his family.

But Albanese has already taken some time off: the Labor leader holidayed in the Bundaberg region of central Queensland from Friday last week until Wednesday this week. During this time, Albanese asked his deputy, Richard Marles, to serve as acting leader.

Albanese cited his recent trip to Queensland during a press conference on Thursday, reflecting on the rise of daily Covid numbers to record highs in New South Wales, and stressing the need for leaders to follow the best health advice.

Albanese is not planning to take further holidays in the coming weeks, but has said he is planning to travel to South Australia next week. He has also said he wants to visit Western Australia as soon as it opens to domestic travellers.

Federal parliament is scheduled to begin its first sitting of the year on 8 February, with an election due to be held by May.

The budget has been brought forward to late March, setting the stage for the election campaign to begin shortly after then, but Morrison retains the option of going to the polls sooner.