Omicron: Dr Hopkins discusses AstraZeneca's protection

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Asked if he would promise schools would not close, the Education Secretary told the BBC’s Andrew Marr: “We are absolutely working to make sure that all schools are open, that they’re protected. I will do everything in my power. We are still learning about this variant. We know that a booster works.

“Get boosted, protect yourself, protect your community and let’s get through this and transition this from pandemic to endemic.”

Mr Zahawi’s comments may cause alarm to some parents after last academic year’s debacle when schools closed a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had no doubt they were safe.

At least three schools have seen Omicron outbreaks.

Phoenix Collegiate School in West Bromwich sent kids home after a person linked to the secondary tested positive while Calverton Primary in Newham, east London, will be shut for the rest of term due to a number of confirmed cases.

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Public health chiefs have urged all parents of kids at Manor Community Primary in Swanscombe, Kent, to get them tested before returning to classes.

The Mirror reports that all year five students have been advised to stay home and get tested while a year four class has also been encouraged to get tested in case the new variant has spread.

Mr Zahawi also failed to rule out extending the vaccine rollout to primary school children after reports health officials are preparing to offer jabs to younger children.

He said: “There is no plan at the moment to vaccinate primary school children for the reason that the Joint Committee on Vaccination [and Immunisation, JCVI] is still looking at the evidence as to what level of protection it would offer.”

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According to the Sunday Times, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is expected to announce that jabs are safe for children while the JCVI is examining whether to recommend vaccines for kids.

Mr Zahawi said he fears cases would explode to the point where millions could be affected within weeks.

Speaking to Sky’s Trevor Phillips, he said: “What we know, hence the concern, is that a third of infections in London are Omicron.

“Reported tests are indicating about 1,600 cases, but the number of infections in the community will be multiple that – up to 10 times.

“It’s highly infectious, with a doubling rate of between two and three days. Very quickly Omicron will be the dominant variant in the UK and probably the rest of the world.

“We’ve seen this movie before with the Kent and Delta variants. There are cases in hospital with Omicron.”

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, told Mr Marr she has not yet heard reports of any deaths but it was really important to remember that it is just over two weeks since cases were first detected in the UK.

She said: “Hospitalisations start to be seen after two weeks, and deaths at three to four weeks, so it’s too early to make assumptions. It’s a big wave and it’s coming straight at us.

“It’s highly infectious. If we see even half the severity we saw with Delta, then we’re facing a very large number of hospitalisations and deaths.”

Omicron could cause from 25,000 to 75,000 deaths by the end of April, according to research.

A total of 48,854 people tested positive for COVID-19 as 52 people died within 28 days of a positive test on Sunday.

Forty percent of those eligible have received a booster dose.

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