UK virus cases grow at fastest pace in 11 months

Fears that Britain could be plunged into a de facto January lockdown were raised today because so many Britons will be catching Omicron and forced off work. Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said it was ‘valid’ to assume the UK could face a million daily cases of the super-mutant strain by next month, the equivalent of one in every 66 Britons catching the disease each day. Chief medical officer Chris Whitty is said to have warned Cabinet that such astronomical infection rates will spark staff shortages in pubs, restaurants and shops during a stark update on the Covid situation this afternoon. There are now concerns of a repeat of the ‘Pingdemic’ that shut down swathes of the economy over summer, only on a much wider scale because of how infectious the new strain is compared to Delta.

It came as the Department of Health reported 59,610 overall coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, up more than 30 per cent in a week and the highest number since the peak of the second wave on January 9. Daily deaths — which are a lagging indicator — were down 17 per cent in a week with 150 victims today, while latest hospital data shows there were 793 last Friday, up 11 per cent. Public health officials estimate the true number of daily Omicron infections is around 200,000 and that the mutant virus is doubling every two days, with the central testing scheme struggling to keep pace with the variant. Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, said vaccine passports, working from home and other curbs to tackle Omicron will be needed for ‘the next four to eight weeks’ to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed. Health chiefs are already calling for tighter restrictions in London — where Omicron is already dominant — and Scotland today tightened its curbs, limiting social mixing to three households in the run up to Christmas. Yet the first major real-world study in South Africa today found that Omicron is causing a third fewer hospital admissions than Delta and that just two doses of Pfizer provides 70 per cent protection against severe illness. The Omicron Covid variant spreading at a ferocious pace in the UK has become dominant in London barely two weeks after it was first detected, health chiefs revealed today. Professor Kevin Fenton, the capital’s director of public health, said data suggested the super-strain was already behind at least one in every two new infections in the city, up from 44 per cent just yesterday. As the country’s major transport hub, London quickly became England’s Omicron epicentre after South Africa first raised the alarm on November 24. It is thought to have been seeded in the capital by travellers flying into the UK. The capital’s Covid infection rate has spiralled to its highest level since January when stringent curbs were in place, rising 55 per cent in a fortnight from 347 to 537 cases per 100,000 people. Omicron becomes DOMINANT in London: Capital’s hospital admissions have risen 50% since variant first emerged The Omicron Covid variant spreading at a ferocious pace in the UK has become dominant in London barely two weeks after it was first detected, health chiefs revealed today. Professor Kevin Fenton, the capital’s director of public health, said data suggested the super-strain was already behind at least one in every two new infections in the city, up from 44 per cent just yesterday. As the country’s major transport hub, London quickly became England’s Omicron epicentre after South Africa first raised the alarm on November 24. It is thought to have been seeded in the capital by travellers flying into the UK. The capital’s Covid infection rate has spiralled to its highest level since January when stringent curbs were in place, rising 55 per cent in a fortnight from 347 to 537 cases per 100,000 people. And hospitalisations in the city have risen by 50 per cent over the same period, from 90 to 140 admissions a day on average. Deaths remain flat but it can take up to a month for fatalities to start rising due to the time it takes to fall seriously ill. Nationally, Omicron is behind one in every five cases but is expected to outstrip Delta before the New Year. For comparison, it took Delta almost two months to take over from the Alpha variant. Omicron is also spreading very quickly in Scotland and South Northamptonshire, data shows. A spokesman for London’s mayor suggested today they would back controversial local lockdown restrictions in the capital, saying it was better to ‘act now’ rather than wait for the virus to spiral out of control. But Tory representatives called on ministers to rely on ‘strong vaccine protection’ and ramp up the booster drive, rather than curb people’s daily lives. And hospitalisations in the city have risen by 50 per cent over the same period, from 90 to 140 admissions a day on average. Deaths remain flat but it can take up to a month for fatalities to start rising due to the time it takes to fall seriously ill. Nationally, Omicron is behind one in every five cases but is expected to outstrip Delta before the New Year. For comparison, it took Delta almost two months to take over from the Alpha variant. Omicron is also spreading very quickly in Scotland and South Northamptonshire, data shows. A spokesman for London’s mayor suggested today they would back controversial local lockdown restrictions in the capital, saying it was better to ‘act now’ rather than wait for the virus to spiral out of control.