As Omicron spreads rapidly, it seems to happen that the UK and South Africa set coronavirus records. The rising wave of Omicron infections could lead to daily hospitalizations from Covid exceeding.
- It is the peak of last winter when more than 4,500 people in the UK were admitted on a single day, England’s chief medical officer has said.
- England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said the country is suffering two epidemics simultaneously. A wave of cases from the Delta coronavirus variant, plus an unprecedented surge from the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Chris Whitty said,
“This is a really serious threat at the moment. How big a threat, there are several things we don’t know. But all the things that we do know are bad, and the principal one being the speed at which this is moving. It is moving at an absolutely phenomenal pace.”
- South Africa has also reported a record number of daily infections fueled by Omicron’s spread. However, it is showing that Omicron is producing more mild disease than other forms of the virus.
- Meanwhile, Canada has warned residents to avoid nonessential travel through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
- In South Korea, it has also just released its daily Covid numbers. Another 7,435 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours alongside 73 deaths.
- Germany has also released its daily Covid report. It is confirming a further 50,968 coronavirus cases and 437 deaths in the past 24 hours according to the Robert Koch Institute.
According to the UKHSA’s Covid surveillance report, covid cases are raising most steeply among those aged 20-29, followed by people in their 30s, although children aged five to nine, and 10- 19-year-olds still have the highest rates of infection.
