:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/QU4U2GUEV5GPLHL6N5LE5DFICE.jpg "Has anyone died of Omicron? the first death from the omicron variant occurs in the UK")
At least one person has died in the UK from the new Omicron variant of Coronavirus, which in London alone now accounts for approximately “40% of cases,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday.
Speaking to the media during a visit to a vaccination center in the Paddington neighborhood, in the west of the British capital, the Tory leader warned that “sadly, omicron is causing hospitalizations and at least one patient has died” due to that.
The conservative leader also rejected the current perception that this variant produces less serious effects than others.
“This idea that (the variant) is a milder version of the virus is something that we must park and recognize how quickly it accelerates (its spread) among the population. So the best we can do is get all the booster doses of the vaccine,” Johnson said.
The head of the Executive announced yesterday that from today the booster dose against covid-19 will be offered to all those over 18 years of age in England – as long as at least three months have passed since the second dose – in order to combat the “tide” of infections that are expected to reach the country.
Johnson warned today that “around 40 percent” of the cases of covid-19 that are now registered in London belong to this variant, while the country’s hospitals have already begun to receive patients infected by omicron and there are fears a collapse of the NHS (public health service).
The “premier”, who last week announced the entry into force of new restrictions such as the generalization of the use of masks in closed public places, the requirement of COVID certificates to enter nightclubs or shows or the recommendation to telework, alluded to the vote scheduled tomorrow in the Commons, where deputies will decide whether to support those rules.
“I think everyone should recognize a couple of things: that omicron represents a very serious risk to public health, and that it spreads very quickly, and I think there is no room for complacency,” he remarked.
At the same time, he recalled that the country has vaccines and that the British position “is incomparably better than last year.”
“I trust that the citizens understand, and also the colleagues of (the Parliament of) Westminster, and throughout the country, that the measures that we introduce are balanced and proportionate,” he said.