Last part of the UK report...
In response to the report, the UK government - which announced further restrictions for England earlier this week - said it continues to look closely at all of the emerging data.

We' ve been clear throughout that vital vaccines and boosters are our best line of defence against this virus and that is why we are urging people to come forward as quickly as possible as they become eligible, a government spokesman said.

Plan B remains a proportionate response based upon what we know, so we encourage everyone to follow the rules by wearing a face covering, working from home if you can, testing regularly and coming forward for your booster when called.

Earlier, Eleanor Riley, professor of immunology and infectious disease at the University of Edinburgh, said that unless you are living like a hermit it was very likely that you would come into contact with someone infected by Omicron in the coming weeks as it was spreading so quickly.

Even if the variant is milder, as anecdotal accounts from South Africa have suggested, she said given that so many people are going to come across this virus, even a small proportion of a lot of people is a lot of people in hospital..