Prime Minister Boris Johnson states ‘at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron’. However, the decision on increasing restrictions may not change before Christmas. Here’s all about the first confirmed Omicron variant death in the UK.
Omicron variant death: One confirmed in the UK
The first death in the UK, caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was confirmed earlier today by Prime Minister Johnson. He informed the reporters that at least one person lost their life to the strain. “Omicron is producing hospitalizations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron,” said the PM. However, he did not share other details including the location or patient details. The shocking news follows merely hours after the UK government confirmed the presence of 10 patients with the new variant in England’s hospitals.
Additionally, the speculation whether the new variant is less or more lethal compared to the delta is still running. However, new data suggests that it can overwhelm the NHS even if it is less lethal. This is because new data reveals that omicron cases are doubling every two to three days. Additionally, Prime Minister also warned of a ‘tidal wave’ announcing that routine appointments will be discarded. Instead, they are bidding to gove one million booster jabs before New year’s Eve. Moreover, the booking website crashed and the lateral flow test slots have run out till December 14.
Coronavirus restrictions in the UK
Starting today, England has moved to a full-time work-from-home guidance. Additionally, PM Johnson is soon going to face a mass Tory revolt over the plans of forcing nightclubs and events to show COVID-19 passes from Wednesday. The MPs will be voting tomorrow to reach a decision. Earlier today, he refused three times, ruling out the possibility of introducing more restrictions before Christmas.
“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 recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. o the best thing we can do is all get our boosters,” stated Johnson. Scotland’s Health Secretary added that sticker rules are ‘inevitable’ in the current situation. “The risk is plainly there, we can see Omicron spiking now in London and some other parts of the country. Here in the capital it probably represents about 40% of the cases. By tomorrow it’ll be the majority of the cases and it’s increasing the whole time,” added PM Johnson. (https://fleshbot.com)