Covid: First Omicron death in UK as boosters rolled out

Around a fifth of all Covid cases in England are already down to Omicron, the health secretary has declared, warning that hospitalisations and deaths are expected to “dramatically increase” over the next few weeks.

One person is confirmed to have died with Omicron, and in the face of this rapidly growing and still largely unknown threat, the government has pledged to throw everything at the booster jab campaign, calling it a “national mission”.

Long queues have already formed outside vaccination centres, while the NHS booking website has crashed.