Omicron infections in the UK hit an estimated 200,000 a day on Monday and the super-contagious variant will become the dominant strain of coronavirus in London within days, it has been revealed.
The dramatic figures came as the first UK death of a patient infected with the new variant was recorded. With omicron infection numbers believed to double every two or three days, they set the scene – if accurate – for daily infections to reach a record 1 million or more by the start of next week.
Doctors’ leaders called for the return of two-metre social distancing indoors and mandatory face-masks in pubs and restaurants, warning that the government’s reliance on vaccines will leave millions at risk from a variant against which two jabs appear to offer relatively little shield while a third gives up to 75 per cent protection.
The first day of the government’s drive to deliver booster vaccinations to 20m people by the end of the month was marred by technological glitches, as queues running into thousands of people wanting to book appointments built up on the NHS website. Some 110,000 appointments were booked by 9am despite the delays.
Meanwhile, a surge of requests for lateral flow tests led to online orders for the home-testing kits being suspended. Health secretary Sajid Javid said that mailing capacity had reached its limit and called in Amazon and other delivery services to assist the Royal Mail.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Javid said experts expect cases of omicron to “dramatically increase” in the coming days and weeks, with hospitalisations and deaths lagging by around two weeks.
Some 4,713 patients in the UK have been confirmed with omicron infection. But the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates that 200,000 people were infected with omicron on Monday alone with the new variant making up around one-fifth of all Covid cases.
In London, which has become the UK hotspot for the new variant, the proportion of cases involving the new variant has now risen above 44 per cent and it is expected to become the dominant strain in the capital within 48 hours, said Mr Javid.
NHS England raised its alert to the highest level of 4, designating a “national incident” and allowing health bosses nationally to take charge of the actions of local trusts.
A letter to trusts said that the response could include 24/7 vaccine clinics and the discharge of medically fit patients to hotels to clear spaces inside hospitals.
There was confusion over Boris Johnson’s pledge that all eligible Britons will be able to get a vaccine booster by New Year’s Eve, as Mr Javid told MPs that it was “asking a huge amount of our colleagues in the NHS” and that not every person will necessarily receive their jab in December. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said the target was a “monumental challenge”, but promised to “bust a gut” to get it done as quickly as possible.
Mr Javid’s Labour shadow Wes Streeting accused the government of “rowing back” on the promise made on Sunday, warning: “The prime minister has got to learn to be straight with people because he is undermining public trust and confidence in the government and public health measures at a critical time.”
Visiting a vaccination centre in London, Mr Johnson said he wanted the jabs drive to “hit warp speed” over the coming days.
The prime minister refused to rule out new restrictions before Christmas, saying it was time to set aside any belief that omicron was “somehow a milder version of virus” and to recognise “the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population”.
“The best thing we can do is all get our boosters,” he said.
“We’ll have to attain a pace and a number of daily booster doses that will exceed anything that we’ve done before.
“But I’ve got no doubt at all that we have the people, we have the enthusiasm, we have the fundamental optimism about what we can do, which we’ve learned from the experience of the last 18 months. And I know that people are going to rise to this.”
Downing Street refused to put a daily target on the number of booster jabs, on the grounds that figures are certain to fluctuate wildly depending on the days of the week and bank holidays.
Some 750 troops were deployed to help with planning and vaccinations, and a No 10 spokesperson confirmed that appointments will be made available on Christmas Day and Boxing Day to keep momentum up.
To hit Mr Johnson’s target, the NHS would have to inoculate more than 1m people a day over the next three weeks, well above the previous single-day record of 840,000.
In a TV address, Sir Keir Starmer urged all Britons to get the booster, warning that the NHS is “at risk of being overwhelmed”.
The argument that not enough is known about omicron no longer “stacks up”, he said, adding: “We may not be certain how dangerous it is but we do know that lives are at risk.”
The Labour leader confirmed his party will back Mr Johnson’s Plan B restrictions in a Commons vote on Tuesday, saying it was “our patriotic duty” to ensure the measures are not defeated by lockdown-sceptic Tory rebels.
Issuing an appeal for the return of social distancing, as well as testing before entry to any hospitality venue, British Medical Association (BMA) council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “It’s estimated that one in four people will not be eligible for a booster by the end of December, because they will either currently be unvaccinated or somewhere in the process of having the first two doses.
“Most are younger people, who are often the most socially mobile and most likely to inadvertently spread Covid. That is why we need additional protections over and above the vaccination programme.”
But the Confederation of British Industry warned ministers against “instilling a lockdown mentality” and said the economy “should remain as open as is feasibly safe to do so in the coming weeks”.
Director-general Tony Danker said guidance on working from home should be lifted “as soon as it is safe to do so” and “the bar should be set high” for any new restrictions to economic activity that go beyond the government’s Plan B.
With travel restrictions expected to be eased within days in recognition that omicron has become endemic in the UK, there were calls for assistance for businesses hit by the new wave.
Downing Street indicated schools would be kept open unless there was an “absolute public health emergency” and warned local authorities against deciding to close early for Christmas as a precautionary measure.
“We do not think anyone should be closing schools early unless they have received advice from the local director of public health that it’s necessary on public health grounds,” said the PM’s official spokesperson.
“We wouldn’t want to see that happening routinely, just as a precaution. It’s very important that we maintain schooling as much as possible.”
