hello. by this time tomorrow, omicron will most likely have overtaken delta to become the dominant covid variant in london. roughly speaking, the number of cases here is doubling every two and half days. the uk has now recorded the first death from omicron, we don t know the particular circumstances behind that case, but the prime minster said today people needed to dispel the notion that this is a milder variant. ourfreedoms, he says, will depend on the success of the booster programme and how willing people are to get vaccinated. tomorrow, there will be four votes in the house of commons on facemasks, social distancing rules, covid certificates for larger venues, and compulsory vaccinations for all nhs staff. on the conservative benches, there will be a sizable rebellion, but the leader of the opposition sir keir starmer said tonight they will be backing the governments tighter measures. of the scientists are clear. our best defence is the boosterjab. the vaccine is safe an