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Boris Johnson to hold 5pm press conference as Omicron variant discovered in UK

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 15: Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the media regarding the United Kingdom's Covid-19 infection rate and vaccination campaign at Downing Street Briefing Room on November 15, 2021 in London, England. The prime minister and his advisers encouraged Britons to receive their Covid-19 vaccine booster when eligible. (Photo by Leon Neal - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Boris Johnson will address the nation alongside Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance

Boris Johnson is to hold a press conference at 5pm this evening following the discovery of the Omicron variant in the UK.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed earlier that two cases had been detected in Nottingham and Brentwood.

He ordered targeted testing in the affected areas and said the PM will set out ‘further measures’ during a Downing Street briefing later today.

Scientists believe the strain – which was discovered in South Africa – has a higher rate of re-infection and is more likely to evade antibodies.

The prime minister will address the nation alongside Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance.

Earlier, it was reported that the PM will impose further travel bans over Christmas in a bid to avoid a UK winter lockdown due to the new strain.

The Government has already confirmed four more countries from the southern Africa region will be added to the travel red list.

Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia were added today, while South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia were placed on the list earlier this week

It means non-UK residents will be refused entry, and those who are permitted to return will be ordered to isolate in a Government-approved facility for 10 days at the cost of around £2,000.

In a warning that fresh measures may be on the way, Mr Javid said: ‘We’ve been always very clear that we won’t hesitate to take further action if that is what is required.’

Countries around the world are scrambling to introduce restrictions to stop the spread of Omicron – labelled a ‘Variant of Concern’ by the World Health Organization yesterday.

Australia, Brazil, Canada ,Iran, Japan, Thailand and the US, joined the EU and UK in banning travel to countries in the southern African region.

METRO GRAPHICS B.1.1.529, Omicron variant, formerly known as Botswana variant
Two cases of Omicron have been detected in the UK

But some scientists have suggested ministers may need to go further.

Professor John Edmunds, who advises the Government as part of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the new strain ‘is a huge worry’ and that ‘all the data suggests’ it would be able to evade current immunity built up through vaccines or prior infections.

‘Our fears are it would do so to a large extent,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme on Friday.

He urged ministers to look at extending travel restrictions and to prepare a plan to deal with Omicron because ‘at some point we’re going to get this variant here in the UK’.

He suggested mass testing and local restrictions must be looked at while other preparations could include making the booster programme more rapid, perhaps by reducing the gap between second and third doses, and widening it to younger age group.

Although some scientists have warned the new strain could evade immunity, experts believe there is ‘no plausible scenario’ Omicron will take Britain back to ‘square one’.

Pharmaceutical companies are working around the clock to tweak the existing coronavirus vaccines – with AstraZeneca, working alongside Oxford University, already ‘conducting research in locations where the new variant has been identified.’

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford vaccine group said it was ‘extremely unlikely a reboot of the pandemic in a vaccinated population like we saw last year is going to happen.’

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: ‘At least from a speculative point of view we have some optimism that the vaccine should still work against a new variant for serious disease, but really, we need to wait several weeks to have that confirmed.’

Meanwhile, Sir John Bell, immunologist and government vaccine task force member, said travel bans will not stop Omicron reaching the UK.

But testrictions could halt a potential spike in cases beyond the festive period, helping to protect the NHS, he said.

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