There are currently 10 people in hospital with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 – not 250, as Dominic Raab told Sky News.
The deputy prime minister later told the BBC that there were nine people in hospital with the variant.
But officials have clarified that Mr Raab “misspoke” on both occasions by getting his figures wrong, and that there are currently 10 people in hospital with Omicron.
He later accused another broadcaster of “ranting” after being challenged on the confusion, which comes as the government seeks to ramp up the booster vaccine programme.
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Earlier this morning, Mr Raab, who also acts as justice secretary, told Kay Burley there are “a significant number” in hospital with the variant, but could not say how many are on ventilators.
Pressed on exact numbers, Mr Raab said: “Well the last I saw was in the low hundreds, I think 250 the last time I looked – but of course, the data is being updated all of the time.”
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In the same hour, the deputy PM revised his figure for the number of people in hospital with Omicron down from 250 to nine during his appearance on BBC Breakfast.
“I know we’ve had one death,” he said. “I think we’ve got nine people who are in hospital with it.”
Officials later clarified that this was incorrect too, and there are in fact 10 people in hospital with the new variant, as Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Kay Burley yesterday.
When it comes to COVID, especially whether restrictions will be needed in the run up to Christmas, the stakes are incredibly high. So Government ministers getting the data and numbers right is more important than ever.
This morning Dominic Raab said there are currently 250 people in hospital with the Omicron variant of COVID, he later corrected himself – the correct number is 10.
250 would be very worrying for all those watching and waiting to hear if this new variant is serious enough to warrant new restrictions. 250 with cases already going through the roof would indicate a huge problem on the horizon for the NHS, it would make a full lockdown far more likely.
That the number remains at 10 is positive news – nobody wants to see people in hospital but those numbers look fairly static and relatively low. Coupled with new data from a study in South Africa seemingly showing that two doses of the Pfizer jab provides strong protection even against Omicron, people may be hoping their Christmas wishes have been answered and that the booster vaccination scheme will be enough.
But the reality is we don’t yet know, and while we wait the government will today push through new COVID curbs, against the will of many of its own backbenchers. This is a politically difficult time for Boris Johnson, but many people won’t care about that – they just want to know Christmas and the festive period can go ahead as planned – we’ll all have to wait a little longer for the answer.
The deputy PM later accused a broadcaster of “ranting” as he was challenged over the confusion he sowed on the number of Omicron hospital admissions.
He told the presenter of ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Adil Ray: “First of all, I misheard one of the questions around whether it was hospitalisations of Omicron-related patients or more generally, but the figures are: one death from Omicron, 10 in hospital, and I can tell you the latest daily hospitalisations run at 900.”
Speaking to Sky News earlier, Mr Raab said that if the rate of transmission continues, “we will see those numbers increase very dramatically”.
“A proportion of those hospitalised will possibly die or have a very serious suffering” due to Omicron, he warned.
But he said there was currently “no plan” for more restrictions beyond Plan B.
Plan B measures are being voted on by MPs today – they include the mandatory use of face masks in some settings and the use of COVID passes for some venues.
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Pressed on Christmas, the deputy PM said: “I think people can go into this Christmas, enjoy it, and we’ve got an opportunity to spend time with loved ones in a way that we didn’t last year.
“At the same time, I do think it is right to encourage people to get the booster vaccine.”
His comments came as modelling from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suggested Omicron is currently infecting 200,000 people a day across the country.
Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Mr Javid said the variant represents more than 20% of coronavirus cases in England and would become dominant in London “in the next 48 hours”.
There have been 4,713 confirmed cases in the UK and one death.
