32 cases of Omicron variant identified in UK

Another nine cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant have been detected in England and one in Scotland, bringing the total number of people with the strain identified in Britain to 32, health authorities confirmed Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

So far, 22 cases of the Omicron variant have been identified in England and 10 in Scotland, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.

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."

"That's why it's critical that anyone with COVID-19 symptoms isolates and gets a PCR test immediately," said Harries.

Britain registered 48,374 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 10,276,007, according to the latest official figures.

The country also reported a further 171 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 145,140. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

More than 88 percent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first vaccine dose, and over 80 percent have received both doses, according to the latest figures. Some 32 percent have received a booster jab, or the third dose.