1,239 new daily cases of Omicron were announced on Saturday
The United Kingdom’s coronavirus alert level has been increased to level four in response to the spread of Omicron, the UK’s chief medical officers have said.
The chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland stated on Sunday that they were recommending that the alert level was raised from three to four.
The last time the Covid alert was at level four was in May.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to make a televised statement on Covid at 8pm on Sunday. He is expected to give an update on the booster jab programme.
In terms of the risk levels – which are measured by a five-level, colour-coded alert system – level four means that there is a high or rising level of transmission.
The chief medical officers have stated that there is early evidence which shows the Omicron variant is spreading much faster than Delta variant.
They added that the effectiveness of the vaccine against symptomatic disease from Omicron is also reduced.
A statement read: “Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalisations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly.
“The NHS is currently under pressure mainly driven by non-Covid pressures. With a variant spreading with increased transmissibility and reduced vaccine effectiveness, we are likely to see this pressure rise soon.”
The message from the chief medical officers has been to get vaccinated, as well as getting the booster jab, when eligible to do so.
They also suggested that people should continue to wear masks, continue to get tested, keep rooms ventilated and self-isolate when required.
An additional 1,239 daily cases of Omicron were also announced on Saturday, which takes the official total number of Omicron cases in the UK to 3,137
Over half a million booster jabs and third doses were given in the UK on Saturday, but it remains unclear how well vaccines work against the Omicron variant.
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