LONDON: The British government raises the official threat level of Coronavirus in the country on Sunday, warning the rapid spread of the Omicron variant has encouraged Britain to risky areas.
The chairman of the British Medical Officer, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the emergence of a new strain that was very transmitting “adding additional risk and rapidly increasing to public care and health services” at the time of Covid-19 had been widespread.
They recommend raising warning levels from 3 to 4 on a scale of 5 points.
The doctors said initial evidence showed Omicron spread much faster than the Delta variant which is currently dominant, and that the vaccine offers less protection against it.
British officials said Omicron would likely replace Delta as a dominant strain in England in a few days.
“Data on severity will be clearer over the next few weeks but hospitalization from Omicron has occurred and this tends to increase rapidly,” they said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a televised statement about the situation of the British Coronavirus and Booster vaccination campaign on Sunday night.
Concerns about the new variant leads the Conservative Johnson government to re-introduce restrictions raised almost six months ago.
Masks must be worn in most of the indoor settings, the vaccine certificate must be displayed to enter the nightclub and people are urged to work from home if possible.
Many scientists say that it is not possible, however, and calling for harder steps.
The Johnson government tried to avoid it, but aims to offer everyone 18 to the booster shot at the end of January.
The British Health Security Agency said on Friday that the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines looked less effective in preventing symptomatic infections in people exposed to Omicron, although initial data showed that effectiveness seemed to rise to between 70% and 75% after the third vaccine dose.