Amidst news of the death of one person infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus, there has been a rush to get vaccine booster doses.
In the United Kingdom, with more than half a million people booking their slots on Monday.
The United Kingdom had, on Sunday, announced that booster doses would be made available to everyone above the age of 18 years.
As people rushed to book their doses, the website of the National Health Service, UK’s public healthcare system, collapsed for some time.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the death of one person infected with Omicron variant. It was not immediately clear whether the infection happened to be the cause of death or was incidental.
The UK Health Security Agency has also confirmed that at least 10 patients infected with this variant have been hospitalised, according to Sky News.
Johnson said the hospitalisations, and the death, were adequate warnings about the threat from this new variant.
“I think the idea that this (variant) is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think, that is something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population,” he was quoted by BBC as saying.
The number of detected cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection is increasing rapidly :
The UK confirmed over 1,200 new cases of Omicron variant on Sunday, the highest so far, Sky News reported. The total number of confirmed cases of this variant now exceeds 3,000, the maximum in any country.
Meanwhile, Norway tightened restrictions on movement of people amidst record high number of coronavirus infections in the last few days, powered by the spread of the Omicron variant.
Norway has been reporting 3,000 to 4,000 cases a day. Last week, it even discovered over 6,000 cases one day. During earlier waves, it had not registered more than 1,500-1,600 cases on any day.
“The situation is becoming increasingly serious. The number of detected cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection is increasing rapidly, followed by an increase in hospital admissions,” the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said in its latest risk assessment on Monday.
“Hospitals, nursing homes, family doctors and out-of-hours clinics are under an ever-increasing strain as a result of more patients, increased sickness absence among healthcare personnel and lower access to temporary staff from abroad.
The omicron variant is becoming established in Norway and will soon dominate. This will significantly increase transmission,” it said.