Covid: Here's everything Boris Johnson announced in national address as he warns we are 'facing an emergency' with Omicron

He said that vaccines have saved ‘countless lives’.

But warned that we are now ‘facing an emergency’ due to the Omicron variant.

He said that Omicron was doubling every two days and that there is a ‘tidal wave’ of Omicron coming.

The PM said ‘do not make the mistake’ of thinking that ‘Omicron can’t hurt you’.

He confirmed we have people in hospital with Omicron – and that our scientists ‘can’t say’ it is less severe.

The PM announced that they were launching a booster mission – and said that everyone eligible over the age of 18 can get a booster by the end of December – forward from the initial target of January 2022.

But he did say that ‘some other appointments’ would have to be delayed until the New Year to facilitate the booster push.

From tomorrow (December 13), every adult over the age of 18 will be able to get the booster as long as you’ve had your second dose at least three months ago.

He said that the online booking portal would open for 18-29 year olds from Wednesday – it became open for 30-39 year olds over the weekend.

The PM urged people to ‘get boosted now’ and urged people who have not had a vaccine at all to ‘get a jab’ as soon as possible.

The statement was aired on terrestrial channels including BBC – as well as on news channels such as Sky News.

Mr Johnson’s address comes as UK Covid Alert Level has been increased from Level 3 to Level 4.

Here are the hotspots for Omicron cases across Hampshire

The move comes in ‘light of the rapid increase in Omicron cases’.

SEE ALSO: Government announces huge changes to rules for close contacts of Covid cases as Omicron rises

The country’s four chief medical officers and NHS England’s national medical director have recommended to ministers that the UK go up to Level 4 from Level 3.

The decision to increase the alert level follows advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) after a further 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron mutation were recorded in the UK as of Sunday.

It brings the total number of UK cases of Omicron to 3,137, a 65 per cent increase from Saturday’s total of 1,898 UK cases.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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