British Minister of Health: "Omicron" Represents 40% of Corona Infections in London

Britain announced today, Monday, that the “Omicron” mutant has become about 40% of Corona infections in the capital, London.

"All we know about Omicron is that it is spreading at a high rate, something we have never seen before," British Health Minister Sajid Javid said in an interview with "Sky News" television.

He added that  Infections double every two to three days.

He pointed out, "This means that we are facing a massive wave of infection, and once again we are in a race between a vaccine and a virus."

Javid noted that only 10 infections required hospitalization in Britain. He revealed that "Omicron probably accounts for about 40 percent of infections in London.

On Sunday, Britain raised the level of preparedness to confront the Corona pandemic to “level 4” from “level 3”, on the recommendation of senior medical officials, to limit the rapid spread of the Omicron mutant.

"Early evidence shows that Omicron spreads much faster than the  Delta variant and that the degree of vaccine protection against Omicron has been reduced," the government said in a statement.

It is noteworthy that the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday, Sunday that the Omicron mutant is more likely to spread than its Delta counterpart, cause less severe symptoms and make vaccines less effective.

On the other hand, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that health authorities recorded today, Monday, the first death of a British person infected with the new mutant "Omicron", Sky News reported.

"Unfortunately, at least one patient has now been confirmed to have died of Omicron so we must note the tremendous speed with which the (mutated) is accelerating in the population," Johnson added.