UK PM Johnson: First patient has died from Omicron variant

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed Sky News' report claiming that the first patient has died after contracting the coronavirus Omicron variant, as reported by Reuters.

Market reaction

The market mood seems to have soured following this headline. As of writing, the UK's FTSE 100 Index was down 0.1% on the day at 7,285 points. Meanwhile, the GBP/USD pair, which touched a daily low of 1.3221, was last seen trading at 1.3255, where it was down 0.1% on a daily basis.