* First publicly confirmed death globally from Omicron
* 200,000 Omicron infections per day in UK -health minister
* Get a booster as two vaccines not enough, Britain says
* Omicron will be dominant variant in London in 48 hours
(Adds more detail from health secretary)
By Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden
LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - At least one person has died in
the United Kingdom after contracting the Omicron coronavirus
variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, the first
publicly confirmed death globally from the swiftly spreading
strain.
Since the first Omicron cases were detected on Nov. 27 in
Britain, Johnson has imposed tougher restrictions and on Sunday
cautioned that the variant could overcome the immune defences of
those inoculated with two shots of vaccines.
Britain gave no details on the death other than the person
had been diagnosed in hospital. It was not clear if the patient
had been vaccinated or had underlying health issues.
Deaths from Omicron may have occurred in other countries but
none has been publicly confirmed yet outside Britain.
"Sadly at least one patient has now been confirmed to have
died with Omicron," Johnson told reporters at a vaccination
centre in London.
"So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version
of the virus - I think that's something we need to set (to) one
side - and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates
through the population."
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the variant now accounted
for 44% of infections in London and would be the dominant strain
in the capital within 48 hours. New Omicron infections are
estimated at 200,000 per day, Javid said.
Before the death was announced, Britain said 10 people had
been hospitalised with Omicron in various parts of England.
Their ages ranged from 18 to 85 years and most had received two
vaccination doses.
The UK Health Security Agency said Omicron - first detected
in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong in late November - can
overcome the immunity of those who have had two shots of
vaccines such as AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech
.
South Africa's health ministry said it was unable to say
with certainty if any of its COVID-19 deaths were caused by
Omicron as deaths were not broken down by variant.
The World Health Organization said on Sunday that while
preliminary findings from South Africa suggest Omicron may be
less severe than the Delta variant - currently dominant
worldwide, and all cases reported in the Europe region have been
mild or asymptomatic, it remains unclear to what extent Omicron
may be inherently less virulent.
NEW LOCKDOWNS?
Johnson, now grappling with a rebellion in his party over
measures to curb Omicron and an outcry over staff parties at his
Downing Street office during last year's lockdowns, said people
should rush to get booster vaccines to protect "our freedoms and
our way of life".
After COVID-19 was first detected in China in late 2019, he
faced criticism for initially resisting lockdown.
He has also been criticised for overseeing mistakes in
transferring patients into care homes, and for building a costly
test-and-trace system that failed to stop a deadly second wave.
Johnson has repeatedly said that while mistakes were made,
the government was making decisions swiftly in the biggest
public health crisis for generations and that it was quick to
roll out vaccines.
More than 146,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the
United Kingdom.
Asked if he could rule out tougher restrictions in England
before Christmas, Johnson avoided giving a direct answer. His
health minister, Javid, said he knew of no plans for additional
measures. "There are no plans that I am aware of for any further
restrictions," Javid said.
VACCINE QUEUES
Johnson faces growing anger from libertarians in his party
over tougher curbs on daily life and sinking poll ratings.
He has also faced criticism over his handling of a sleaze
scandal, the awarding of lucrative COVID contracts, the
refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, and a claim that he
intervened to ensure pets were evacuated from Kabul during the
chaotic Western withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.
An Ipsos MORI poll for The London Evening Standard newspaper
showed opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer's ranking was 13
percentage points ahead of Johnson, the first time a Labour
chief was viewed as a more capable prime minister since 2008.
It also echoed other polls by showing Labour up three points
on 39% ahead of Johnson's Conservatives, who were down one point
since the last survey in November on 35%.
At St. Thomas' Hospital Vaccination Centre in central
London, a queue of hundreds of people snaked back onto
Westminster Bridge. Reuters journalists also documented queues
across London and in Manchester, northern England.
"The COVID vaccine booking service is currently facing
extremely high demand so is operating a queuing system," the
National Health Service said on Twitter. It suggested trying
again later.
Home testing kits were also unavailable to order.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden and Hannah
McKay; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Giles Elgood and Mark Heinrich)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
