Omicron to be dominant variant in London in next 48 hours – health minister – Reuters

Shoppers walk through the Liverpool City Centre, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Liverpool, Britain, December 13, 2021. REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff

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Shoppers walk through the Liverpool City Centre, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Liverpool, Britain, December 13, 2021. REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) – The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading swiftly and will become the dominant variant in the British capital in the next 48 hours, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday.

“No variant of COVID-19 has spread this fast,” Javid told parliament.

“While Omicron represents over 20 percent of cases in England, we’ve already seen it rise to over 44% in London and we expect it to become the dominant COVID-19 variant in the capital in the next 48 hours.”