The UK battles the omicron surge as infections double every two to three days and first death from the variant is reported

London (CNN) – The UK is facing a “surge” of infections from the new variant of the omicron coronavirus, ministers have warned, while sounding the alarm about rapid transmission rates in London and across the country.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the first death in the country of a person with the variant on Monday.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday there were 4,713 confirmed cases of omicron in the UK, adding that the current number of daily infections is estimated at around 200,000.

“While omicron accounts for more than 20% of cases in England, we have already seen it rise to more than 44% in London and we expect it to become the dominant variant of covid-19 in the capital in the next 48 hours.” Javid told Parliament on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, he told Sky News: “It is spreading at an out-of-the-ordinary rate, something we’ve never seen before – infections are doubling every two to three days.” He added that it was too early to know if the cases of the new variant are milder.

Booster vaccination

The UK raised its covid-19 alert level on Sunday and is again accelerating its deployment of booster vaccines to respond to the new wave of cases.

“This means that we are facing a wave of infections, we are again in a race between the vaccine and the virus,” added Javid, sharing the language used by Johnson in a televised address Sunday night.

On Sunday, the prime minister set a new goal of offering all adults a third vaccine by the end of December, a month earlier than originally planned. He had previously shortened the interval between the second and third doses from six to three months. The UK government has focused its covid response around the vaccine program since last summer, and had resisted reimposing the restrictions until the omicron variant came to light.

“I’m afraid it is now clear that two doses of the vaccine are simply not enough to provide the level of protection that we all need,” Johnson said, citing early data showing that the efficacy of a two-dose regimen decreases with the new variant, but that the reinforcements still provide a good level of protection.

“No one should have any doubts: an omicron surge is coming,” Johnson said. “But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose, a booster dose, we can all raise our level of protection again.”

Javid said 10 people had been admitted to the hospital with the new variant. The UK Health Security Agency confirmed they were spread across the country and aged 18 to 85, while most had received two doses of the vaccine.

Omicron restrictions

New guidelines that ask people to work from home came into effect on Monday. The UK has also reimposed its mask-wearing mandate in shops and public transport, and now requires proof of vaccination or a negative test for attendees at large events.

Javid said on Monday that in the future the British will have to have been vaccinated for the third time to be able to obtain a valid “health pass”, necessary to enter nightclubs and large venues. He did not elaborate on when it will be mandatory, but said it will be “once all adults have had a reasonable opportunity to receive their booster shot.”

The recent wave of new restrictions marks a sharp turn from recent months, in which Johnson resisted Europe taking long-term mitigation measures, such as vaccine passports and mask-wearing mandates.

However, the embattled prime minister has faced major insubordination from his conservative lawmakers over his move to reintroduce covid mitigation rules, counting on the support of the opposition Labor Party to make them law.

Johnson has also been involved in a scandal over reports that indicate that Downing Street held a series of parties for staff last winter, when the rest of the UK lived by strict rules prohibiting social gatherings. He has been forced to deny that he has accelerated the reintroduction of covid rules to distract attention from his political troubles.

– CNN’s Robert Iddiols and Vasco Cotovio contributed to this report.