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Map shows where Omicron cases have been confirmed in the UK

Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street, London, to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament. Picture date: Wednesday December 1, 2021.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street, London, to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament. Picture date: Wednesday December 1, 2021.

Some 32 cases of the new Omicron variant have now been confirmed in the UK.

Scotland has confirmed 10 cases, and England has confirmed 22, according to the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Experts have raised fears that the new variant could spread faster than existing strains, and could evade some of the protection offered by current COVID vaccines.

Dr Jenny Harries, UKHSA chief executive, said: “It is very likely that we will find more cases over the coming days, as we are seeing in other countries globally and as we increase case detection through focused contact tracing."

Where have cases of Omicron been found?

The map below shows the areas of the UK where at least one case of Omicron has been confirmed.

Some 32 cases of Omicron have now been confirmed in the UK (Yahoo News UK/Flourish/UKHSA)
Some 32 cases of Omicron have now been confirmed in the UK (Yahoo News UK/Flourish/UKHSA)

The full list of areas where a case has been detected is as follows:

  • Barnet: 2

  • Bexley: 1

  • Brentwood: 1

  • Buckinghamshire: 1

  • Camden: 2

  • Haringey: 1

  • Lancaster: 1

  • Lewisham: 2

  • Liverpool: 1

  • Newham: 1

  • North Norfolk: 1

  • Nottingham: 1

  • Scotland: 10

  • South Cambridgeshire: 1

  • Sutton: 1

  • Three Rivers: 1

  • Wandsworth: 1

  • Westminster: 3

The government has reintroduced some COVID restrictions to curb the spread of the variant, as well as extending the scope of the booster vaccine campaign.

Watch: 'A lot more' will be known about Omicron variant in two weeks, says Sajid Javid

The mandatory wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport came into force in England on Tuesday morning, along with tighter testing requirements for international travel and the return of self-isolation for contacts of confirmed Omicron cases, even if they have been fully vaccinated.

The PM also pledged that everyone over the age of 18 will be offered a booster jab by the end of January.

Previously the third dose was only available to people over the age of 40, health workers, and people who are clinically vulnerable to coronavirus.

Johnson used a Downing Street press conference to promise another “great British vaccination effort” to deliver millions of jabs.

“We’re going to be throwing everything at it, in order to ensure that everyone eligible is offered that booster in just over two months,” he said.

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According to the latest Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation guidance, the booster doses should be given no sooner than three months after a person’s second dose of an original vaccine – halving the time previously recommended.

Young people aged 12 to 15 should be offered a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, no sooner than 12 weeks after their first dose.

However, a note on the NHS England website for booking vaccinations warned that the service still needed to be updated and urged people to wait until they are contacted by the NHS before trying to book.

Javid said on Wednesday morning that the NHS is working to suspend some of the workload of GPs so they can concentrate on the vaccination programme.

“The NHS is working on that right now with GP representatives,” he told BBC Breakfast.

“I am confident that they will work out a way where some of the workload of GPs can be temporarily suspended or GPs can be helped in other ways so they can concentrate on vaccine delivery.”

Watch: Boris Johnson promises to ‘throw everything at’ booster jabs effort