Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer has said he is “more concerned than at any previous point in the pandemic”, amid warnings over the rapid spread of Omicron Covid variant.
Michael McBride urged all adults in Northern Ireland to get a booster vaccine as he and chief scientific adviser Professor Ian Young said Omicron is likely to become the dominant strain in Northern Ireland before the new year.
Professor Young said that Omicron is expected to peak in mid-January and daily case numbers are likely to be higher than at any other time during the pandemic.
It comes as the number of confirmed cases of Omicron in Northern Ireland has reached 151, according to the Public Health Agency.
However, health chiefs have said that they are still waiting for information on the severity of the new strain in relation to hospital admissions.
Mr McBride told a media briefing: “The new variant of Covid-19 Omicron, which is highly infectious, is spreading very fast and soon will become dominant in Northern Ireland.
“We are likely to see a very significant increase in cases of Omicron in the run-up to Christmas.
“Every adult in Northern Ireland needs to get a Covid-19 booster.”
He added: “I think there is cause for very significant concern at this time.
“We still don’t have some key elements of information such as the number of people who get Omicron who end up in hospital.
“I have to say I am more concerned at this stage than I have been at any stage in the pandemic.
“I would ask the public to exercise caution, to follow all of the advice, all of the steps that we know that work.”
Professor Young said it was “inevitable” that Omicron would spread rapidly in Northern Ireland.
He said: “Omicron presents a new threat. We know that it is significantly more transmissible, probably around two and a half times more transmissible than the Delta form of the virus.
“If we look at what is happening elsewhere in the UK and internationally, we see that once Omicron becomes established, it spreads remarkably quickly.
“The doubling time for cases is around two days in England and Scotland, and it is inevitable that we are going to see the same thing in Northern Ireland.
“As a result of that, we will see increasing numbers of the Omicron virus and they are likely to increase very rapidly.
“It is probably going to become the dominant form of the virus, certainly before the end of this year and possibly earlier than that.”
He added: “There is an expectation in UK-terms of very large numbers potentially of Omicron cases, numbers much higher than we have seen at any previous stage of the epidemic.
“And that would also be the case in Northern Ireland.
“The key question is the steps to which those very large numbers would translate through into hospital admissions.
“There is a sense that very large numbers of cases, while disruptive to society and difficult for individuals can be managed.
“It is the number of people who will require admission to hospital which will be the critical factor.
“If Omicron were to be similar to Delta, then it would be significantly worse than that, possibly even several times worse, without further measures.”
It comes as deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said that Northern Ireland cannot be held to ransom over Covid-19 financial support and be left waiting for decisions to be taken in England.
Ms O’Neill said: “Of course we are looking at our own resources but I am asking the Treasury to stand up the furlough scheme again today, that needs to be done so, if we need to reach for it, it’s there and available to us.”
DUP First Minister Paul Givan said engagement with the Treasury was ongoing to establish what additional financial support was on offer.
He said the Executive may also have to divert some more of its own resources to tackle Omicron through the next in-year reallocation exercise, which is due in January.
Meanwhile, four further patients with Covid-19 have died in Northern Ireland.
Another 2,156 cases of the virus were also reported by the Department of Health on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning there were 315 Covid-positive patients in hospital, of whom 32 were in intensive care.–PA