At least one person in the UK has died with the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the fatality during a visit to a vaccination clinic in central London.
"Sadly, yes, Omicron is producing hospitalisations and, sadly, at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron," he said.
"So, I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that’s something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population.
"So, the best thing we can do is all get our boosters."
The Health Secretary has warned Omicron is spreading at a rate “we’ve never seen”. (Source: Breakfast)
It comes after Johnson launched a national mission called Omicron Emergency Boost in a televised address yesterday calling on the army to help support the vaccination drive.
In England, thousands heeded the Government’s call as long queues formed at vaccination centres.
There were some reports of people waiting up to six hours to get their booster jab ahead of Christmas to help withstand a coronavirus tidal wave driven by the Omicron variant.
The NHS website was so overwhelmed it repeatedly crashed as people tried to book their booster jabs.
From Wednesday, anyone double-jabbed who comes into contact with a Covid-19 case must test daily. But, rapid lateral flow home testing kits have also run out on the government’s website due to exceptionally high demand.
As of Monday, government figures show 1576 additional confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.
It brings the total number of Omicron cases in the UK to 4713.
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