The triple stab doctor says he caught Omicron in the UK

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A three-times vaccinated Israeli doctor who contracted the new variant of Omicron Covid says he is convinced he contracted it in the UK.

Cardiologist Elad Maor is believed to have infected a housemate who also had a triplet, and both have tested positive for the variant.

So far the doctors’ symptoms have been mild, according to the Sheba Medical Center hospital near Tel Aviv.

Up to 30 cases of omicron have now been detected in the UK.

Scientists do not yet know if it is more transmissible or leads to worse disease, but some fear it may be the most dangerous variant yet.

Dr Maor was at a three-day conference at the Excel Conference Center in London last month, with more than 1,200 other people, who returned to Israel on November 23.

He began experiencing symptoms within days, and tested positive for the virus on November 27.

The hospital said he and his colleague both had the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine.

Dr Maor, 45, told the Guardian he was sure he was one of the first people in the world to have been infected with the new variant, saying: “I got omicron in London, sure. That’s interesting because that was 10 days ago in London – really, Really early.”

He said that although his wife accompanied him to London, neither she nor his children had symptoms or tested positive for Covid.

Two other people have been identified in Israel as carrying the new variant, one of whom is a tourist from Malawi who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Israel closed its borders to foreigners from all countries for two weeks on Saturday in a bid to contain the spread of Omicron, and reintroduced anti-terror phone tracking technology to trace the contacts of a handful of potentially infected people.

“We have a lot of reason to believe this may be the worst option yet,” said Professor Christina Bagel, a member of the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage).

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