A single person testing positive for the Omicron variant of coronavirus in north Norfolk is not a cause for concern, according to Duncan Baker.

The North Norfolk MP said people in the district would be continue to be "sensible", despite fears over the transmissibility of the new variant.

Mr Baker said that officials had been "very quick" to trace the sources of the variant so people should not worry.

He said people should go about their business as normal and follow the re-introduced rules requiring face coverings in shops and on public transport.

"The prime minister has said there are no signs of a surge and most of these linked variants have all gone back to South Africa," he said.

The case in north Norfolk, which has been linked to travel to South Africa, was one of eight confirmed in England on Tuesday (November 30) by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as consistent with the new variant.

The person that has tested positive and their contacts are isolating.

Dr Louise Smith, Norfolk’s Director of Public Health, said: “While new information is still coming in on this variant, the early evidence has clearly shown a high level of transmissibility, and as such we can expect positive cases to be identified across the country, including in our county, and so sadly this development is not a surprise."

%image(14369815, type="article-full", alt="Coronavirus cases in Norfolk are "stabilising", according to the county's director of public health, Dr Louise Smith. Picture: Ella Wilkinson")


She also said it was important to break the chain of transmission and encouraged people to test regularly and either have their first or second doses of the vaccine or a booster shot if they are eligible.

Mr Baker said he was "surprised" when he learned there was a case reported in his constituency and that surge testing would be carried out where cases have been identified.

He said that although people in north Norfolk would be concerned, they had been "incredibly responsible" throughout the pandemic.

Mr Baker said: "At this moment in time we don’t necessarily know all the details about it, whether it is evading vaccines or whether it is more transmissible and the sensible and practical steps we have taken will buy us some time to be able to work out quite where we go from here."