Britain reports world’s first known Omicron variant death

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday confirmed the UK’s first death from the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the first known fatality from the highly transmissible variant of COVID-19 in the world.

Johnson used the case to highlight the importance of not being complacent that the new variant is milder compared to the currently dominant Delta variant and urged people to get their top-up booster vaccine doses, now being offered to all adults aged 18 and over.

During a visit to a vaccine clinic in west London as part of the Omicron Emergency Boost campaign, Johnson also refused to rule out bringing in further restrictions in the coming days and weeks to control the rapid spread of the variant which has now crossed over 3,000 cases in the country.