Omicron: Boris Johnson says at least one patient has died of Covid

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Boris Johnson said at least one Covid patient has been confirmed to have died in hospital after contracting the omicron variant.

“Omicron is producing hospitalizations and unfortunately at least one patient has been confirmed to have died of Omicron,” the prime minister said during a visit to a vaccination clinic in west London.

Johnson has repeatedly refused to rule out further Covid restrictions before Christmas, warning that the alternative is a risk to the NHS unless there is a significant expansion of booster buns.

“I think the idea that this is a lighter version of the virus in some way, I think this is something we need to put to one side and just get a sense of the phenomenal speed with which it’s accelerating through the population,” he said.

The prime minister said omicron now accounts for about 40 per cent of Covid cases in London and warned that tomorrow “the majority of cases will be” in the capital.

Pressing the possibility of more restrictions before Christmas, Mr Johnson said: “Throughout the pandemic, I have been making a great effort to assure the public that we have to keep an eye on where the pandemic is going and take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health.”

He added: “We think the steps we’re taking – so Plan B, along with a very ambitious acceleration of the booster campaign, offering it for a month … we think that’s the right approach.”

Health Minister Sajid Javid said earlier on Monday that 10 people in England had now been hospitalized with Omicron.

The Prime Minister reiterated the government’s goal of “providing a booster dose” to every adult by the end of December. It has set a new deadline to get everyone over the age of 18 a booster by the end of the month — which means roughly a million people each day.

The NHS reservation system will be open to those over 18 from Wednesday, although many will be able to use vaccination centers from today, as 42 military planning teams have set up additional vaccine sites.

Johnson insisted there was still a “ready supply” of lateral flow tests in the UK, after the government’s website said on Monday there were “no more home tests available”.

The prime minister told broadcasters: “They can get those tests – we have a ready stock of lateral flow tests. If for whatever reason you can’t get one online, there are plenty of supplies in the stores.” He noted that the website’s problems showed that “people do what makes sense and get tested too.”

It comes as the NHS’s booking site ran into technical problems amid a rush of 100,000 people who made reservations for their booster buns on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Johnson warned Conservative MPs considering rebelling against the Plan B measures in a crucial House of Commons vote on Tuesday that they must admit there is “no room for complacency” in dealing with Omicron.

“We have the vaccines, and our situation is still immeasurably better than it was last year. And I hope that people also understand – colleagues in Westminster, across the country – they will also see that the measures we are implementing are balanced and proportionate.”

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