Cases of Omicron variant confirmed in Northamptonshire

Covid booster jabs will be offered to everyone in England who is eligible by the end of January

The first cases of the new Covid-19 Omicron variant in Northamptonshire have been confirmed.

Two people were found to have the variant, which is feared could be more resistant to current vaccines, in the district of South Northamptonshire.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said those who tested positive, and their contacts, were all isolating.

There were also two more cases in Buckinghamshire, one of which is the Chiltern area.

This is alongside an existing case in Bucks and further cases diagnosed in Hertfordshire, South Cambridgeshire, Brentwood, Essex and North Norfolk.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of UKHSA, said: "We are continuing our efforts to understand the effect of this variant on transmissibility, severe disease, mortality, antibody response and vaccine efficacy.

Lucy Wightman, director of public health in Northamptonshire, speaking BBC Radio Northampton on Thursday, said it was a "challenge" to immediately detect cases of the Omicron variant.

She said it can take a "a number of days" to analyse a positive PCR test and confirm it was the new variant.

"It is unfortunately a slow process," she added.

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Omicron has now been detected in at least 24 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), after first being discovered in South Africa.

Covid booster jabs will be offered to everyone in England who is eligible by the end of January.

The government has re-introduced the compulsory wearing of face masks in shops and on public transport to try to curb infections.