On December 13, Monday UK reports its first death due to the Omicron variant of coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson informs during a visit to a vaccination clinic near Paddington, in west London.
What did UK Prime Minister Johnson say?
PM Boris Johnson said “Sadly, yes Omicron is producing hospitalizations and sadly, at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron. So, I think the idea is that this is somehow a milder version of the virus. I think that’s something we need to set on one side and just recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is get all our boosters.”
In an urgent televised address on Sunday night, Johnson warned that a “tidal wave” of the highly transmissible variant is on its way.
Johnson further said, “I am afraid we are now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant, Omicron, and we must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection to keep our friends and loved ones safe.”
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid repeated the PM’s message, adding that the Omicron variant is “spreading at a phenomenal rate” and infections are doubling very fast within every two to three days. He also said 10 people were hospitalized in England with the Omicron variant.