Health officials have confirmed that the number of people confirmed with the Omicron strain of Covid has jumped to 104 in England.
This follows the announcement on Thursday (December 2) that England’s cases had increased by seven from 22 to 29 confirmed instances of the Omicron strain.
The latest figures published mean that over the course of two days the number of people infected with the latest Covid mutation has tripled.
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According to the Health Security Agency (HSA), it has have now identified cases in the East Midlands, East of England, London, North East, North West, South East, South West and West Midlands.
People wearing face masks walking along Oxford Street
Over half those who have been infected with the Omicron variant have also been double jabbed, reports The Guardian.
On Thursday when the HSA last confirmed exactly how many cases were centred on London there had been an increase of two cases, bringing the total to 15.
This included Barnet (2), Bexley (1), Camden (2), Westminster (3), Haringey (1), Sutton (1), Wandsworth (1), Newham (1), Lewisham (2) and Lambeth (1).
Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of UKHSA
(Image: PA)
The latest update on Friday also confirmed the first case of Omicron in Wales had been found along with a further 16 cases identified in Scotland, bringing the total in Scotland to 29 – Northern Ireland has yet to confirm any cases.
Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of UKHSA, said: “Increased case detection through focused contact tracing has led to more cases of the Omicron variant being identified and confirmed, as we have seen in other countries globally.
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“We are continuing to monitor the data closely. Teams nationally and locally are working at pace to identify and trace all close contacts of every Omicron case. It is critical that anyone with Covid symptoms isolates and gets a PCR test immediately.
“We have started to see cases where there are no links to travel, suggesting that we have a small amount of community transmission. That’s why it’s so important that everybody, everywhere, takes simple steps to protect themselves from infection. Please wear face coverings in line with government guidance, let in fresh air when mixing indoors and wash your hands regularly.
“Vaccination is critical to help us bolster our defences against this new variant so please get your first, second, third or booster jab as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your families and your communities.”
On Friday the Government confirmed there were 50,584 new cases of Covid with 143 deaths in hospital.
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