UK to witness a bigger Omicron wave ahead of Christmas? Find out

On Wednesday, December 22, the United Kingdom recorded the highest number of cases since the start of the pandemic and as per the British health chief, cases will only increase in the coming days.

The UK has a population of approximately 67 million and till now more than 11 million people have been infected with the virus. About 78,610 COVID-19 cases were recorded, almost 10,000 cases more than the previous year.

The Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Jenny Harries had earlier said that the Omicron variant is a significant threat and the number of cases over the next few days will be quite staggering as compared to previous variants.

Harries also showed concern over the doubling rate of the variant which is shortening day by day and is growing severely in London and Manchester.

There are currently 129 people in hospital with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and so far 14 people have died with it as per Junior Health minister Gillian Keegan.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that he would not be introducing new COVID-19 restrictions in England before Christmas, but the situation remained extremely difficult and the government might need to act afterwards.

However, the UK Health Security Agency has allowed the use of small doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines for children between the ages 5 to 11 years who may be at a higher risk to catch the virus.