The Coronavirus alert level in the UK has been raised to four due to the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
Chief medical officers recommended the change which now means that the alert level for the virus is now at the second to highest level. It has not been at this level since May.
In a statement, the chief medical officers said: “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.”
Just recently, Boris Johnson addressed the nation with a pre-recorded message that was broadcast on BBC One.
Boris encouraged the public to get a booster vaccine in a bid to combat the new variant and said that cases of the variant continue to increase.
Boris declared the launch of a new booster emergency programme which will offer the booster to all adults over the age of 18 from tomorrow (Monday 13 December).
Boris said, “I’m afraid we’re now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant Omicron. It is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need. But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose, a booster dose, we can all bring our level of protection back up.”
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