First case of Omicron variant of Covid-19 confirmed in Portsmouth
The city is said to be facing a "very worrying" surge in coronavirus infections
The first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has now been recorded in Portsmouth as the city faces a ‘very worrying’ surge in infections, the leader of the city council has said.
Gerald Vernon-Jackson confirmed the case was reported yesterday as the city, he said, was on course to become the upper tier authority area with the greatest level of infection in the country.
Over the last seven days the city has recorded more cases than at any other point in the pandemic, led by surging levels in schools and Cllr Vernon-Jackson this was putting ‘real pressure’ on already strained services.
‘The figures are very worrying,’ he said. ‘The rate has gone up by 30 per cent in a week and we are now at 712 cases per 100,000 people.
‘The city council will work with QA Hospital, the NHS and all public services to make sure residents are protected at this difficult time.’
He said infection rates at schools, particularly primary schools, were ‘very concerning’ and called on the government to reintroduce measures in schools, including mask wearing, in a bid to reduce the spread.
He added that he expected Omicron would soon become the dominant strain nationally.
‘The first case was found yesterday and the worrying thing is the lack of real information we have about the effect it will have,’ he said. ‘But what we have seen is that most people in hospital with Covid are unvaccinated.
‘People need to make sure they’ve had their vaccine and their booster.’
Over the next few days the vaccine van is due to be based in Cosham; at the Mountbatten Centre in Hilsea and at Asda in Fratton offering walk-in vaccinations.