The British government raised the country's official coronavirus threat level on Sunday, warning the rapid spread of the Omicron variant had pushed the U.K. into risky territory.
The chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the emergence of the highly transmissible new strain "adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and health care services" at a time when COVID-19 is already widespread. They recommended raising the alert level from 3 to 4 on a 5-point scale. The top level, 5, indicates authorities think the health-care system is about to be overwhelmed.
"Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalizations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly," they said.Prime Minister Boris Johnson was due to make a televised statement about Britain's coronavirus situation and the booster vaccination campaign on Sunday evening.
Nigeria Latest News, Nigeria Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
U.K. increases COVID-19 alert level as Omicron variant surgesThe United Kingdom is increasing its COVID-19 alert level from 3 to 4 as the Omicron variant surges. The top level, 5, indicates authorities think the health care system is about to be overwhelmed
Read more »
B.C. reports 437 new cases of COVID-19 and three new deathsB.C. health officials identify 10 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19
Read more »
What we know about Omicron two weeks after it became a variant of concernTwo weeks after the World Health Organization designated Omicron a variant of concern, we know a lot more about its potential threat, with initial data suggesting it seems to be associated with less severe illness and fewer ICU admissions.
Read more »
Ontario reports 1,607 new COVID-19 cases, including 48 with Omicron variantOntario ICUs are caring for 146 people with COVID-19
Read more »
Omicron exceeds other variants in ability to evade protection from previous infection, vaccines: studyThe new Omicron variant may have a greater ability than other strains of the virus to escape immune protection from antibodies produced by previous COVID-19 infection, and potentially vaccines, according to a new study.
Read more »
Israeli study finds Pfizer COVID-19 booster protects against OmicronIsraeli researchers say they found that a three-shot course of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine provided significant protection against the new Omicron variant.
Read more »