UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned of a “tidal wave” of infections.
London:
The United Kingdom on Wednesday recorded its highest daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic as a senior British health chief said there could be a “shocking” increase in cases over the next few days.
Another 78,610 COVID-19 infections were reported, nearly 10,000 more than the previous high reported in January.
More than 11 million people have now tested positive for the disease in the United Kingdom, which has a total population of around 67 million.
With a new highly transmissible Omicron version of the virus spreading across the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned of a “tidal wave” of infections.
However, he suffered a blow to his authority on Tuesday when more than 100 of his lawmakers voted against the measure to stem the growing spread of the disease.
UK Health Protection Agency chief executive Jenny Harris earlier called the Omicron edition “probably the most significant threat” since the start of the pandemic.
“The numbers we see on the data in the next few days will be quite staggering compared to the growth rate that we have seen in cases of previous variants,” he told a parliamentary committee.
Harris said the doubling time of the new version of the virus “which is getting shorter” and is now less than two days in most areas of the UK, with its growth rates particularly notable in London and Manchester.
More than 10,000 cases of omicron have been reported, with at least 10 people hospitalized. One person has died after contracting the variant, which is set to become a major strain in London.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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