UK: As the Omicron wave grows, the UK sees a staggering 93,000 cases today a third consecutive record daily tally, 88,376 reported yesterday, and 78,610 on Wednesday all breaking the previous record of 68,053 on January 8th. Cases were likely to have reached similar heights in the first Covid wave of spring 2020. But due to lack of testing then, there is no data to compare to. The government said a further 111 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
Meanwhile, a further 3,201 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected, with the total now standing at 14,909, according to UKHSA. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Royal Mail have today announced that delivery capacity for Covid-19 testing kits will double in response to unprecedented demand. Welsh leader Mark Drakeford told citizens to brace for the “storm of Omicron” has announced the country’s nightclubs will close after December 26th and social distancing reintroduced in shops and workplaces.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the aim was on “trying to make sure that we not only have the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe” but also “to avert some of the more damaging consequences of Omicron”. “The Prime Minister confirmed UK Government will be convening a Cobra meeting over the weekend with counterparts from the devolved administrations to continue discussions over the growing covid-19 cases”. Speaking at a news conference, England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty warned that records will be broken a lot in the next few weeks. He added people should prioritise what matters with regards to social mixing in the run-up to Christmas.