New Delhi : Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed on Monday that one individual in the United Kingdom had died from the Omicron type of COVID-19, according to the BBC.
Even as the country’s coronavirus warning level was elevated to four owing to the emergence of the super mutant strain of the fatal virus, Johnson warned that the country would face a “tidal wave” of Omicron variant. Level four indicates that transmission is high or rising; the UK was last at this level in May.
Johnson declared a “Omicron emergency” and set a new booster target: the third doses will be available to everyone over the age of 18 in England starting this week, three months after their second dose, according to the BBC.
“There should be no question that a tidal wave of Omicron is on its way,” Boris Johnson stated. As part of the UK government’s Plan B measures, people have been told to work from home starting Monday “if they can.”
“I’m afraid we’re in the midst of an emergency in our fight against the new variety Omicron,” Johnson remarked.
“It is now evident that two vaccination doses are insufficient to provide the amount of protection that we all require.” The good news is that our scientists are certain that by adding a third dose, a booster dose, we will all be able to restore our level of protection.”
“At this time, our scientists are unable to say whether Omicron is more severe.
“And even if that were true, we already know it is so much more transmissible that a wave of Omicron through an unboosted population would risk a level of hospitalisation that would overwhelm our NHS and result in unfortunately many deaths.”
According to a study, Omicron might kill up to 75,000 people in the UK by the end of April.
According to a modeling research, the Omicron form might cause between 25,000 and 75,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the UK by April next year if extra control measures are not done.
According to the study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, Omicron has the potential to create a wave of transmission in England, resulting in higher numbers of cases and hospitalizations than those recorded in January 2021.
Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in the United Kingdom analysed the most recent experimental data on Omicron’s antibody-evading features to investigate possible scenarios for the variant’s immunological escape.
If no additional control measures are implemented, a wave of infection might occur, resulting in almost 2,000 daily hospital admissions, 175,000 hospitalizations, and 24,700 fatalities between December 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022, according to the most hopeful scenario.
Bureau Report
Leave a Reply