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The Health Secretary said the Omicron variant now accounts for more than 20% of COVID cases in England.
Sajid Javid said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates the current number of daily infections is around 200,000.
He also said Omicron, which is believed to be more transmissible than previous variants, accounts for more than 44% of infections in London and is expected to become the dominant variant in the capital “within the next 48 hours”.
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Image: Long waiting lists for walking enhancers formed on Monday after the Prime Minister opened the program to everyone
“There are now 4,713 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK,” Javid told MPs.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Mr Javid briefed MPs on the new changes to COVID passports in England.
Changes include:
People in England will need a two-stroke and a booster dose to get to large places, or a negative lateral flow test, as part of their COVID Card – once they have had a reasonable chance of getting a booster, the COVID Card for international travel will be launched outside to include those aged 12 to 15 years.
Mr Javid said there were currently 10 people in England who had been hospitalized with Omicron, while one person with the variant had died.
He added: “It is necessary to remember that hospitalization and deaths lag behind infection by about two weeks, so we can expect a significant increase in these numbers in the coming days and weeks.”
The health minister also said that from Tuesday, fully immunized contacts of someone who has tested positive will be able to perform daily lateral flow tests instead of self-isolating.
Image: The government’s website said it has suspended the request for lateral flow tests
Earlier today, the government website suspended requests for lateral flow tests “due to exceptionally high demand”.
Many pharmacies have also run out of tests, and those pharmacies face long lines.
However, Mr Javid said: “The UK has enough lateral flow tests to see us over the coming weeks.
“If anyone finds that they are unable to obtain a kit online, they should check the site the next day or visit their local pharmacy and get a kit.”
Johnson has repeatedly refused to rule out further restrictions before Christmas on Monday, but Mr Javid said there were “no plans I know of” for additional action.
2:03 Big queues for punches around the UK
The health minister added that two doses were not sufficient to prevent symptomatic infection from Omicron, but UKHSA analysis showed the third dose was 70% effective.
He said more than 40% of adults in the UK now had a booster dose and Saturday saw a record number of boosters – more than half a million.
With the booster program now open to all adults and a booster target for all adults brought into the end of this month, Mr. Javid said more than 840,000 – the daily record – should be beat every day.
He said he was confident this could happen, with more vaccination sites open, and for a longer period, as well as thousands of volunteers trained in vaccination and 42 military planning teams being recruited to help.
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Sources 2/ https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiigFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9jb3ZpZC0xOS1vbWljcm9uLW5vdy1lc3RpbWF0ZWQtdG8tYmUtMjAtb2YtaW5mZWN0aW9ucy1pbi1lbmdsYW5kLWFzLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLXBhc3MtY2hhbmdlcy1hbm5vdW5jZWQtMTI0OTUwODfSAY4BaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnNreS5jb20vc3RvcnkvYW1wL2NvdmlkLTE5LW9taWNyb24tbm93LWVzdGltYXRlZC10by1iZS0yMC1vZi1pbmZlY3Rpb25zLWluLWVuZ2xhbmQtYXMtY29yb25hdmlydXMtcGFzcy1jaGFuZ2VzLWFubm91bmNlZC0xMjQ5NTA4Nw?oc=5 The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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