The Omicron variant is posing a serious health risk to the United Kingdom and the situation is about to get even worst, experts believe.
On Wednesday, the UK recorded the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with 78,610 new cases largely due to the Omicron variant alongside the dominant Delta variant. The previous record was 68,053 on 8 January when the UK was still in full lockdown.
Addressing a Downing Street press conference, British prime minister Boris Johnson said, “Let’s slow down Omicron’s spread and reduce the harm Omicron can do to us by building up our vaccine defences. We are throwing everything at it and wherever you are we’ll be there, with a jab, for you, so please, get boosted now,” he said, as he announced that the National Health Service (NHS) booking service is now open to all over-18s to book their doses.
Cases have risen by nearly 20,000 in one day, with 59,610 confirmed cases recorded on Tuesday.
England’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Chris Whitty, said the situation is now one of an epidemic upon an epidemic as a result of the Delta and Omicron variants impacting infection rates side by side.
New measures imposed
Fighting the Omicron variant, Britain announced additional measures to stop its spread.
As per the new measures, face masks will be required in more public settings — including theatres and cinemas. People have also been asked to work from home wherever it’s possible. Also, the NHS COVID-19 Pass will also be required for visitors to nightclubs, indoor unseated venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people and any event with more than 10,000 people.
Speaking on the curbs, Johnson had said, “The best way to ensure we all have a Christmas as close to normal as possible is to get on with Plan B.”
“Irritating though it may be, it is not a lockdown.”
The UK authorities have also asked everyone over the age of 18 to get their booster dose, which has led to a ‘booster blitz’ with people queuing up in long lines to get the additional third dose and further protection from the ‘easily transmissible’ variant.
On Wednesday, the UK gave out 656,711 booster or third doses of a vaccine up by over 140,000 on the day before.
These numbers also saw a ramp-up after the UK recorded its first Omicron death on Monday.
There are currently 568 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, figures show – although the UK Health Security Agency estimates that the true number of infections is about 20 times higher and probably closer to 10,000.
‘1 million warning’
Dr Susan Hopkins, the UK government’s most senior public health adviser, issued a frightening warning on Tuesday, saying that Britain’s wave of Omicron infections could reach one million a day by the end of December.
She told MPs that the Omicron Covid variant was initially doubling every two to three days in the UK but the pace appeared to have speeded up, driving a surge of disease that risked putting “significant” pressure on the NHS, according to a report in The Guardian.
What we know of Omicron so far?
The Omicron variant was first spotted in South Africa in November and was reported to the World Health Organization on 24 November. The WHO labelled it a “variant of concern” two days later, noting it had mutations associated with increased transmissibility.
Since then, the variant has been identified in over 60 countries across the world, and there are increasing cases of community transmission with no links to travel.
A recent research by University of Hong Kong found that Omicron infects and multiplies 70 times faster than the Delta variant and original SARS-CoV-2 in human bronchus, which may explain why it may transmit faster between humans than previous variants. The study also showed that the Omicron infection in the lung is significantly lower than the original SARS-CoV-2, which may indicate lower disease severity.
The WHO too on Wednesday said Omicron was spreading at an unprecedented rate and urged countries to act.
With inputs from agencies
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.