The UK on Friday saw the highest number of Covid infections since January, a senior minister said Friday, as the government seeks to slow the spread of the new variant.
Communities Secretary Michael Gove said that the country faces a “deeply concerning situation” as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly, with case numbers doubling every two to three days in England.
The UK said it had a total of 58,194 cases on Friday.
“We know that we have the highest number of Covid infections across the UK recorded today since January 9,” when there were 59,937 cases, Gove told journalists after meeting leaders of UK regions.
He added that 30 percent of reported cases in London are now the Omicron variant, while the virus was only identified in the UK two weeks ago.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned that “we may be facing — indeed we may be starting to experience — a potential tsunami of infections”.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that if the trend continues, it expects Omicron to become the dominant variant in the UK by mid-December, with over one million infections by the end of this month. So far there have been 1,265 confirmed Omicron cases.
The UKHSA also said that early analysis of around 500 people confirmed to be infected with Omicron showed that AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs “provided much lower levels of protection against symptomatic infection”, in comparison to the Delta variant.
From Wednesday, people will have to show Covid passes with proof of two jabs or a lateral flow test in order to attend events in crowded settings such as nightclubs and stadiums.
The new regulations will be put to a debate and vote in the House of Commons next week but are expected to be approved despite opposition from some Tories.
Source: Reuters
In other news – Cassper Nyovest wins Artist Of The Decade award at 2021 South African Hip Hop Awards
Rapper Cassper Nyovest is on cloud nine after bagging the Artist Of The Decade award at the 2021 South African Hip Hop Awards.
The nominees for that category were Kuli Chana, Kwesta, Riky Rick, AKA, Nadia Nakai, Da Les, Cassper Nyovest, Emtee, K.O, Nasty C Stogie T, A Reece, Youngsta CPT, Gigi Lamayne and Zakwe and Cassper reigned supreme. Learn more
