Britain Battles Omicron 'Tidal Wave' As Infections Double Every Two To Three Days

Daily Mail: UK Omicron cases jump 50% in 24 hours to almost 5,000 but overall daily Covid infections rise by just 6% to 54,661 as hospitalisations creep upwards, Boris confirms first death from mutant strain and first day of booster drive descends into chaos

* The Prime Minister revealed the death on a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, west London

* Extra NHS staff and the army will be called to help deliver booster jabs to those eligible across the nation

* Boris Johnson said that every adult in the UK will be able to book a booster before the end of this year

* Said he is bringing forward his end of January target by a month because 'a tidal wave of Omicron is coming'

* Every adult over 18 who has had second jab at least three months ago eligible for booster from today

* Prime Minister's address came after the UK's chief medical officers recommended raising Covid alert level

* The nation's CMOs recommended raising the alert from Level 3 to Level 4 - one step below the top Level 5

The UK's Omicron outbreak surged by 50 per cent in a day today after more than 1,500 Britons were diagnosed with the mutant virus and the first death was confirmed — as No10's turbocharged booster vaccine rollout was plagued with issues on its first day.

Officials confirmed another 1,576 cases of the highly-evolved variant over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 4,713 — however this is believed to be a vast underestimate with the true number several times greater because not all positive tests are analysed for variants.

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