UK says 14 deaths and 129 hospitalised by Omicron

A man walks through a quiet City of London, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in London, Britain, December 21, 2021

There are currently 129 people in hospital with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and so far 14 people have died with it, junior health minister Gillian Keegan told Sky News on Wednesday.

She also said the UK government would not hesitate to bring in further COVID-19 restrictions if the data showed it was necessary.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that he would not introduce new restrictions in England before Christmas, but the situation remained extremely difficult and the government might need to act afterwards.

Source: Reuters / Reporting by James Davey Editing by William Schomberg