Omicron latest: 55 cases now confirmed in Wigan

Wigan's public health chief has warned it will not take long for Omicron to become the dominant Covid variant in the North as she revealed that now 55 cases had been confirmed in the borough.
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Prof Kate Ardern, who is the lead director of public health in Greater Manchester, spoke of a "very fast evolving situation" as Omicron spreads.

The Wigan Council director revealed that 55 cases of the new variant were identified in the borough last week – much more than previously reported.

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NHS staff and volunteers will work ‘flat out’ over the next two weeks to deliver the booster vaccines to as many people as possible by the end of the year.

Prof ArdernProf Ardern
Prof Ardern

It comes as Omicron became the dominant variant in London this week and soon spread from the South East to the rest of the country.

Prof Ardern stressed the importance of rolling out booster jabs, but said that a "package of measures" will be needed to stop the spread of the new variant.

She said: “Transmission rates in the North of England are not quite as high as they are in the South of England. But it won’t take long for us to catch up.”

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The public health director set out the "very serious situation" at a health and social care scrutiny committee meeting this week.

She explained that the NHS – and GP practices in particular – will be expected to run seven-day-a-week vaccination clinics and work 12-hour shifts as the roll-out of the booster jabs is prioritised over other services in the health care system.

This is because booster vaccinations are needed to protect against serious consequences of Omicron which has been found to be more transmissible.

The time it takes for the infection rate of Omicron to double is currently two to three days, Prof Ardern said, compared to five to six days for the Delta variant.

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However, it takes seven to 14 days for the booster jab to fully protect people – and anyone who is infected with Covid must wait 28 days before vaccination.

That is why other measures are required to slow down the spread of Omicron.

Prof Ardern added: “The challenge is whether those measures will be enough to slow down the rate of Omicron spread to allow the vaccination programme to try and at least keep up – or preferably get ahead.

“It’s very important that we do adhere to public health measures to try to reduce the spread of Omicron. It’s not enough to just rely on vaccination.”

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