The first-ever death of the new COVID variant ‘Omicron’ has been recorded in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson informed the media on Monday.
The United Kingdom recorded the first case of the Omicron variant on November 27, 2021. The Britain administration has not shared the information of the deceased.
PM Johnson stated, “Sadly, at least one patient has now been confirmed to have died with Omicron,” adding that the capital city of the country now holds 40% of the Omicron infections.
He added, “So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus. I think that’s something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population”.
The government of the UK has stricken the COVID-19 health protocols on Sunday.
This new variant was first discovered in the South African nations, soon after which several countries put a travel ban on the travellers coming from the region.
World Health Organisation, during the press briefing, noted that to date, over 50 countries now have the new COVID-19 variant, adding that Omicron is having a much higher transmissibility rate as compared to the Delta variant.
The international health organisation further cautioned the countries informed that Omicron decreases the efficacy rate of the COVID-19 vaccines but causes less severe symptoms.
Countries around the globe are taking strict precautions trying to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus while speeding up the vaccination drive.
WHO named Omicron as the ‘variant of concern’. Omicron initially was identified as ‘B.1.1.529’ by WHO.
WHO earlier put it into the category of ‘most-troubling category of Covid-19′.
