Covid: 26 other Omicron cases found in UK, bringing total to 160

Cases of the Omicron variant in the UK are continuing to rise with another 26 being reported today.

The Health Security Agency (HSA) said 25 of the new cases were in the UK while one was in Scotland.

It brings the UK total to 160 cases, after 75 new cases were discovered yesterday.

Cases have now been identified in the East Midlands, East of England, London, North East, North West, South East, South West and West Midlands, as well as parts of Scotland and Wales.

People who test positive for Omicron are being asked to self-isolate for 10 days, with targeted testing underway in areas where outbreaks have occurred.

Scientists have described this variant as ‘most worrying ever’ because of its ability to evade immunity to a vaccine or previous infection.

Countries around the world have imposed temporary restrictions while much work is underway to evaluate the new strain of bacteria.

HSA chief executive Dr Jenny Harries said: ‘We are working as quickly as possible to gather more evidence of any impact the new variant may have on disease severity. defects or effectiveness of the vaccine.

‘Until we have this evidence, we must exercise the utmost caution in drawing conclusions about any significant risk to people’s health.’

The new cases come as more travel restrictions have been announced to prevent the spread of stress.

Health Minister Sajid Javid announced that all visitors to the UK will have to take a Covid-19 test before departure – while Nigeria is being added to the government’s travel red list.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for more updates.