British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday the first patient had died after contracting the omicron variant of the coronavirus, Sky news reported.
Britain said on Monday that the Omicron coronavirus variant was spreading at a "phenomenal rate" and now accounted for about 40 percent of infections in London, so people should get a booster shot because the double-vaccinated are still vulnerable.
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Since the first Omicron cases were detected on Nov. 27 in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed tougher restrictions and told the nation on Sunday that a "tidal wave" of Omicron was coming.
Britain says that unless action is taken there could be a million people infected with Omicron by the end of the month.
"It's spreading at a phenomenal rate, something that we've never seen before, it's doubling every two to three days in infections," Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News.
"That means we're facing a tidal wave of infection, we're once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus."
Read more:
Boris Johnson: UK faces ‘tidal wave’ of omicron cases, two doses not enough
Israeli study finds Pfizer COVID-19 booster protects against Omicron
Two weeks into the Omicron outbreak: Where to from here?
Omicron may pose higher reinfection risk but could be milder than Delta: WHO
