The press conference comes amid ongoing problems with Covid tests and booster jab bookings
Boris Johnson is to lead a Downing Street news conference at 5pm on Wednesday.
The prime minister will be joined by England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director of primary care for NHS England.
Watch this evening's COVID-19 press conference live on our channels from 5pm. pic.twitter.com/H0cDRrueNo
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) December 15, 2021
The briefing is expected to focus on the booster jabs rollout and comes amid fears that up to 1 million Brits will be isolating on Christmas as Omicron sweeps across the nation.
Official estimates suggest that four times more people are likely to be isolating on Christmas Day than last year.
The press conference also comes amid ongoing problems around the availability of Covid tests and the government website being besieged by demand for booster jabs leading to long delays.
Government minister Alex Burghart has told the Commons that more than 50 per cent of cases of Covid in London are now Omicron.
This number was at around a third on Sunday, with scientist warning the variant is spreading rapidly.
Related links:
- If you catch covid from today you’ll have to isolate for Xmas – here are the symptoms to watch out for
- Shock horror – Dominic Raab doesn’t have a clue what’s going on with Omicron
- UK Covid alert level raised to level four amid Omicron case surge
- Omicron symptoms: What you should be looking out for
This is breaking news story. More to follow.
