Covid: Several Omicron cases confirmed in Rutland and Leicestershire

The county's seven-day Covid-19 infection rate is above the national average

Several cases of the Covid-19 variant Omicron have been identified in Rutland.

Leicester has also had its first case confirmed and there have been two cases identified in Leicestershire.

Mike Sandys, Leicestershire and Rutland's director of public health, said all confirmed cases were self-isolating.

He added the county council was working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to respond appropriately.

On Tuesday the agency said there had been 437 confirmed cases of the variant, first detected in South Africa, in the UK.

Work is still being carried out to establish how Omicron differs from other variants in terms of severity and transmission rate.

'Expect more cases'

Leicester's first case was revealed by the city council earlier, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Leicestershire's first case was reported in the borough of Oadby and Wigston on Monday and a second case has been detected in the Charnwood area.

Mr Sandys said: "We are working closely with UKHSA to take all appropriate actions and identify any close contacts.

"All those with confirmed cases are now self-isolating, in line with government guidelines.

"It's extremely important residents follow the latest Covid safety measures and take every possible precaution to reduce their risk of transmission.

"With community transmission of Omicron now believed to be in evidence in large parts of the country, we should expect more cases and take extra care."

The UKHSA said it could not confirm how many Omicron cases had been found in Rutland but it planned to start publishing local breakdowns of case numbers in the near-future.

Rutland's seven-day Covid-19 infection rate was 723.9 per 100,000 people for the week up to 2 December.

The England average for the same period was 483.7.