Covid live: Boris Johnson holding press conference after two cases of Omicron variant detected in UK | World news

Johnson has stressed people can continue to travel but arrivals have to take a PCR test by the second day of their arrival and self isolate until they have a negative result.

He added that the new variant diverges from previous configurations of the virus and reduces protection from vaccines over time.

Johnson said it does appear that Omnicron spreads very rapidly and can spread between two people who are doubled vaccinated.

The UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson is due to give a live press conference now on the latest on the new variant which you can follow in the blog.

The UK has recorded a further 131 coronavirus-related deaths and 39,567 cases in the latest 24-hour period, government figures show.

After the Omicron variant was detected in Germany in a passenger arriving from South Africa, Peter Tinnemann, head of the Frankfurt Health Authority, said: “Our current routine procedures enable us, together with Frankfurt airport, to quickly implement the necessary measures to minimise the risk of spreading.”

The Czech Republic’s president, Miloš Zeman, left a Prague hospital on Saturday to name the country’s new prime minister a day later, his spokesman told AFP.

Zeman is due to appoint Petr Fiala, head of the right-wing Civic Democratic party, as prime minister at his Lany chateau residence on Sunday morning.

However, it is still not clear how the ceremony will proceed as the 77-year-old Zeman has to isolate for two weeks under health ministry rules.

Zeman went to hospital on 10 October. He was released last Thursday but returned to hospital on the same day after testing positive for Covid-19.

Essex county council in England has confirmed it is aware of a case of the new Omicron variant:

Here are more details on the UK government adding four more countries to its red list after two cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant were detected.

Scientists in the UK are responding to the news that two cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Brentwood and in Nottingham.

Infectious diseases expert Dr Neil Stone tweeted that it was no surprise that the variant had been found in the UK, but noted travels bans might not be “completely useless” as both confirmed cases were linked to travel in southern Africa.

He wrote:

Surprise surprise, Omicron has been found in the UK. As usual, by the time we discover it exists, it’s everywhere.

Importantly, both cases apparently linked to travel in Southern Africa..so maybe travel bans not COMPLETELY pointless just yet (they will be very soon though)

That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, for today. I’m handing over to my colleague Tom Ambrose.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he “would not be surprised” if the Omicron variant was already in the United States.

Speaking to NBC News today, the president’s chief medical adviser said there was yet to be a confirmed case of the variant in the US but added:

You know, I would not be surprised if it is.

We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility and you’re already having travel-related cases that they’ve noted in Israel and Belgium and other places, when you have a virus like this, it almost invariably is ultimately going to go, essentially all over.

Its ability to infect people who have recovered from infection and even people who have been vaccinated makes us say this is something you have to pay really close attention to and be prepared for something that’s serious.

It may not turn out that way, but you really want to be ahead of it.

Singapore has recorded 1,761 new cases, up from 1,090 the previous day.

A further six deaths were also reported, compared with three on Friday. The latest figures take the total number of fatalities in the country of 5.7 million people to 690.

Asked if the UK public should now expect changes “as we head into Christmas”, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, said:

We’ve always been really clear that we will do whatever is necessary to protect the progress that we’ve made as a country.

We’ve come a long way, especially since the summer, and we keep all of this under review and if we need to take further action, we will.

Boris Johnson is due to take part in a news conference at 5pm with the chief medical officer for England, Prof Chris Whitty, and the UK’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, “to set out further measures”.

When asked what the public’s response should be, Javid replied:

If anyone is sitting at home, thinking what can I do – get vaccinated.

Four more countries are being added to the UK’s travel “red list” from 4am on Sunday: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia.

Sajid Javid, the UK health secretary, said:

We have moved rapidly and the individuals are self-isolating while contact tracing is ongoing.

We will do all we can to protect the UK public against this emerging threat and that is why we are surging testing capacity to the impacted communities and introducing travel restrictions on a further four countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola. We will not hesitate to take further action if required.

This is a stark reminder that we are not yet out of this pandemic.

Getting the vaccine has never been more important – please come forward for your first jab if you haven’t already and if eligible, book your booster as soon as possible.