Prime Minister Boris Johnson says at least one patient has died with the omicron Covid variant in the UK

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday that at least one patient infected with the new omicron variant of Covid-19 has died in the country.

“Sadly yes, omicron is producing hospitalizations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with omicron,” Johnson told reporters on a visit to a vaccination clinic near Paddington, London, according to Sky News.

“So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that’s something we need to set on one side and just recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.” he said.

Earlier on Monday, U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the BBC that 10 people were currently in hospital after being infected with the omicron variant. Javid said omicron was spreading at a “phenomenal rate” and cases were doubling every few days.

It comes after a study announced by the University of Oxford on Monday found that two doses of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine were substantially less effective at warding off omicron compared to previous variants of the coronavirus.

Scientists were, however, optimistic that booster shots would improve immunity against the new, highly transmissible variant.

This is a breaking news story, please check back later for more.