Boris Johnson has said that a Cobra meeting with the devolved administrations will take place this weekend and the response to the Omicron variant will be discussed.

On Friday, Johnson spoke with Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister and the First Minister agreed on the importance of close collaboration for the benefit of citizens across the UK.

“They discussed the shared challenges including the economic disruption caused by Covid and will continue to work together.

“The Prime Minister confirmed UK Government will be convening a Cobra meeting over the weekend with counterparts from the devolved administrations to continue discussions.”

Chard & Ilminster News: Daily confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK (by date cases were reported) (PA Graphics)Daily confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK (by date cases were reported) (PA Graphics)

The news comes after Boris Johnson addressed the nation in a press conference on Wednesday night after Omicron cases had doubled across the UK in one day.

This address came as the UK recorded the highest daily total of lab-confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.

As of 9am on Wednesday, official figures show that 78, 610 new cases had been recorded.