U.K. – Community transmission of Omicron confirmed
The U.K.’s health minister Sajid Javid, told the Parliament that the new Omicron variant of Covid19 is now in transmission within the community across regions of England, as he confirmed a total of 336 cases of the mutation first detected in South Africa.
Javid said there are now 261 Omicron cases in England, 71 in Scotland and four in Wales – a total of 336. “This includes cases with no links to international travel, so we can conclude there is now community transmission across multiple regions of England,” Javid said.
He added the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) now has data that shows the Omicron variant may have a shorter window than other variants between infection and infectiousness but said he is not aware of anybody being admitted to hospital with the variant.
The health secretary said 10,000 vaccinators were being recruited to bolster the booster jabs programme because “when the virus adapts, we must adapt too”.
