Covid: Omicron variant spreading in the community ‘across multiple regions of England’, says Sajid Javid

The health secretary has warned that there is now community transmission of the new Omicron variant of Covid “across multiple regions of England”.

Sajid Javid told MPs the government is tightening travel restrictions while also “strengthening vital defences at home” through a ramped up vaccination drive.

In the last 24 hours there have been almost 51,500 new Covid cases in the UK. A further 41 people have died.

Latest figures show another 90 new cases of Omicron have been confirmed since Sunday, although some experts believe the true number is much higher.