THE Prime Minister is set to address the nation tonight amid increasing concerns about the Omicron variant and the UK Covid Alert Level being increased from level 3 to level 4.

Mr Johnson will address the nation tonight at 8pm in a recorded message to provide an update on booster vaccines, Downing Street has said.

The UK Covid Alert Level has been increased from Level 3 to Level 4 “in light of the rapid increase in Omicron cases”, the four UK chief medical officers said in a joint statement.

Read more: Covid Alert Level increased from Level 3 to Level 4 'in light of rapid increase in Omicron cases'

Increasing the UK Covid Alert level to Level 4 means the epidemic is “in general circulation, transmission is high and direct Covid-19 pressure on healthcare services is widespread and substantial or rising”, according to Government guidance.

North East MP calls for 'better plan' to tackle Covid as Boris Johnson faces huge rebellion

In the statement, the four UK chief medical officers and the NHS England national medical director said the emergence of Omicron “adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and healthcare services”.

The statement said: “Early evidence shows that Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron is reduced.

“Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalisations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly.”

Read more: North East MP calls for 'better plan' to tackle Covid as Boris Johnson faces huge rebellion

They added: “The NHS is currently under pressure mainly driven by non-Covid pressures. With a variant spreading with increased transmissibility and reduced vaccine effectiveness, we are likely to see this pressure rise soon. It is extremely important that if you are eligible, you get your Covid vaccination now – whether this be your first, second or booster dose.

“People should continue take sensible precautions including ventilating rooms, using face coverings, testing regularly and isolating when symptomatic.”

The news comes after a total of 51,254,510 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by December 11, Government figures show.

This is a rise of 25,378 on the previous day.

Some 46,742,069 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 36,873.

A combined total of 23,124,829 booster and third doses have also been given, a day-on-day rise of 530,086.

Read more: Omicron 'highly transmittable' variant confirmed on Teesside says new figures

Separate totals for booster and third doses are not available.

-----

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054