“An Omicron tidal wave is coming” in the United Kingdom, warned, Sunday, December 12 in a televised address, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. To counter this, he announced a strong acceleration of the vaccine booster campaign.
“No one should doubt it: there is an Omicron tidal wave coming, and I fear it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are not enough to provide the level of protection we all have. need “, did he declare. Thus, everyone over 18 in England will be able to receive a third dose of the vaccine by the end of December, a month earlier than initially planned.
Earlier today, health officials in the UK announced they were raising the Covid alert level due to a “Rapid increase” cases of the Omicron variant. The level goes from three to four, which is the second highest level. It means that “Transmission is high and the pressure on health services is widespread and significant or increasing”.
“The first elements show that Omicron spreads much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic diseases of Omicron is reduced”, they stressed. Although the severity of Omicron is not yet known and “Will be clearer in the coming weeks”, they note that there is ” already “ hospitalizations due to Omicron and that it is “Probable” than their number ” increase quickly “.
Teleworking and health passport
The Ministry of Health also announced on Sunday that from Tuesday, fully vaccinated contact cases of people who test positive for Covid-19 will also be asked to perform antigenic tests daily for seven days. Those who are not vaccinated must remain isolated for ten days.
These announcements come on top of new measures presented by Mr Johnson on Wednesday, including the return to teleworking and the introduction of the health passport in certain places, measures which will be put to the vote of deputies on Tuesday.
The United Kingdom is particularly affected by the pandemic with more than 146,000 deaths and some 50,000 new infections recorded every day.
