THE first cases of the Omicron variant have been found in the North of Ireland.
And the North’s chief medical officer says there are “undoubtedly” unidentified cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant here.
Three cases of the variant first uncovered in South Africa were discovered in the North on Tuesday.
The cases were all linked to travel to the North of Ireland from Great Britain.
Speaking to BBC News NI, Prof Sir Michael McBride said we will see a “significant increase” in case numbers before Christmas.
There are currently 437 Omicron cases in the UK.
Sir Michael said it was too early to say how Omicron cases may impact on Covid restrictions.
“It’s important at this point that we don’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said.
The chief medical officer said the closure of schools would be “the very, very last thing we look at”.
“I think our children have suffered quite significantly throughout this pandemic,” he said.
“I think our teachers have done a fantastic job, I think parents have done a fantastic job supporting them throughout remote learning – but it is not the same as face-to-face learning.”
However, Sir Michael said there was “concern” about how the highly transmissible variant may impact on the health service.
North’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Michael McBride
“I think we need to be very careful, I think we need to be guarded, and I think we need to just watch this space until we get more data.”
Sir Michael said early data “is concerning”, but added: “We would be premature to get too far ahead of ourselves and certainly wrong to panic.”
The chief medical officer said that Northern Ireland will see “many more” cases of the Omicron variant in the coming days as “we actively go and look for cases”.
“I think [Omicron] numbers will take off very quickly,” he said.
“I suspect that, if indeed what we are hearing about this variant comes to pass, it will probably become the dominant variant at sometime in January.”
Sir Michael, who meets regularly with chief medical officers from other UK nations, said “we seem to be noticing a very short incubation period” with Omicron.
That means the time between people coming in contact with the virus and developing symptoms is potentially shorter.
“That makes it harder to keep ahead of the virus with contact tracing,” he added.
Of the three Omicron cases detected in the North of Ireland, two are in the Belfast area and one in the South Eastern Trust area.
Sir Michael thanked the three individuals for having “co-operated fully with the Public Health Agency, enhanced contact tracing and wider testing”.
The chief medical officer urged anyone travelling from Great Britain or the Republic into the North to take a lateral flow test.
He also reiterated the importance of good hand hygiene, limiting social contacts and wearing a face covering in public places.
Despite the outbreak of Omicron, the chief medical officer said he was “pleased” there has been a “levelling off” in hospital pressures over the past number of weeks.
Sir Michael said 10% of hospital beds in the North of Ireland are currently being taken up by patients with Covid-19, down from 15% in November.
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