LONDON – Cases of the Omicron variant across the United Kingdom have surpassed 45,000, the Health Security Agency said yesterday.
Health authorities said the total number of Omicron cases in the UK is now 45,145, while the country reported 91,743 new Covid-19 cases, the second highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic.
Of those, 8,044 tested positive for Omicron, they said, adding 44 more people lost their lives to the virus within 28 days of a positive test, reported Anadolu Agency.
Monday’s figure for omicron is lower than that for Sunday, when 12,133 confirmed cases were reported, but statistics are normally lower on the first day of the week due to a lack of reporting at the weekend.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government is reviewing the situation in the country “hour by hour” and warned that he will “reserve the possibility of taking further action” before Christmas.
“We will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public and to protect public health, to protect the National Health Service. We won’t hesitate to take that action,” he said following a cabinet meeting that lasted two hours.
“We should keep the data from now on under constant review… hour by hour,” he added.
France and Germany have banned all non-essential UK arrivals due to fast-rising Omicron cases over the weekend, leaving thousands of people with no choice but to stay in the UK during the festive season.
It is feared that more European Union member states will introduce new restrictions on people arriving from the UK.
Meanwhile, dozens of trains at London terminals have been cancelled amid fears of rising Omicron cases as well as staff shortages due to the coronavirus.
Due to a similar shortage, hundreds of trains have been cancelled in Scotland for the rest of the week in the run up to Christmas. – Bernama, December 21, 2021
