COVID-19 cases in UK hit new level, Omicron runs riot

UK’s COVID-19 cases reached a new high on Thursday, with a 119,789 people testing positive for the virus on Wednesday.

There are now 90,906 cases of the Omicron variant in the UK, after a further 16,817 cases were reported.

But positive sets of data have shown that despite its increased transmissibility, the variant tends to produce a milder illness.

The rapid spread of Omicron has driven a surge in cases in the last seven days, with the total rising by 643,219, or 59%, according to government data

Sarah Crofts, Head of Analytical Outputs for the ONS Covid-19 Infection Survey said: “Our latest results show infections in England increased in the week to 16 December, with around 1 in 45 people infected.

London was worst hit with an estimated 1 in 30 people infected with the coronavirus last week, according to the figures from the Office for National Statistics.

In the previous two weeks, an estimated 1 in 60 people in England were infected. The records date back to May 2020, so do not cover the peak of the initial wave of the pandemic.

Omicron is likely by now the dominant variant circulating in England, the analysis suggested.

Modelling from the ONS showed Omicron, as of Dec. 16, had already matched the existing Delta variant in terms of the percentage of positive cases in England.

The ONS said the percentage of cases compatible with Omicron had increased in all regions apart from the northeast.

In Scotland, 1 in 80 people were estimated to be infected with COVID-19, a decrease from 1 in 70 the previous week.

The estimates for Wales and Northern Ireland were unchanged at 1 in 50 and 1 in 55.