Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, warned of the danger of tens of thousands of hospitalisations with omicron even if it were to prove "half as severe" as delta because it is so infectious.

"I can confirm to you this morning [there are] cases in hospital with omicron," Mr Zahawi told Sky News. "We've been able to test people who are in hospital over the past two weeks, and there is a lag to hospitalisation.

“It is a race between the booster and the protection and the omicron barrier. It is now a race to get all adults who are eligible for their booster jabs to be boosted as quickly as possible. And the Prime Minister will be saying more about this later today.”

It comes amid concerns that further restrictions could be imposed to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed. The Telegraph revealed today that senior ministers would "resist" a so-called "Plan C" of further restrictions in the absence of data about the impact of omicron and hospitalisations.

Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/12/12/boris-johnson-tory-rebellion-plan-b-downing-street-zoom-christmas/

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