A person infected with the Omicron variant in Essex is “well” and isolating with their family, the region’s top public health official has said.
Essex director of public health Dr Michael Gogarty told BBC Breakfast: “Most importantly with the confirmed case is that they are well, they are isolating with their family.
“When I say that they are well, I mean they are not seriously ill.
“They have some symptoms but they do not require hospitalisation.”
It comes as Professor Sir Mark Walport, who is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) advising Government, told Sky News there was “good cause to be concerned” about Omicron.
He said it “makes sense to try and hold it back” though it will be “impossible to stop it spreading around the world if it is much more infectious than the Delta variant”.
He said the most important thing people in the UK could do was to have vaccines and take measures such as wearing masks.
Asked if people should be told to wear masks in pubs and restaurants, he said: “If you are in a small, poorly ventilated enclosed space, it makes sense to wear a mask. Clearly when you are drinking and eating it’s not possible to do that but if you’re moving around, then absolutely.
“We know that infection happens in closed spaces indoors and of course, as it gets colder, people are more likely to be indoors and they’re less likely to have the windows open.
“So if you’re going to wear masks in shops, it makes sense to wear them in other places as well.”
