The United Kingdom announced its first Omicron death.
The UK is struggling to cope with the new variant, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid telling MPs that Omicron now represented 20 percent of cases in England.
On Sunday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had declared an “Omicron emergency” in the UK and decided to start booster doses for everyone above the age of 18 from this week, the BBC reported.
“I’m afraid we’re now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant Omicron,” UK prime minister Boris Johnson was quoted as having said in a TV statement on Sunday evening. “No one should be in any doubt, there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.”
He added: “It is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need. But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose, a booster dose, we can all bring our level of protection back up.”
Experts have told the government that Omicron could cause between 25,000 and 75,000 deaths in England over the next five months without tougher COVID-19 restrictions.
