New Delhi, Dec 15 : More than 1 million people in the UK are likely to be isolating with Covid on their own on Christmas Day, the latest data suggests, Daily Mail reported.
England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warned the Cabinet during an update on Tuesday that the new Covid variant was spreading ‘unbelievably fast’.
According to official estimates, the speed at which the Omicron variant is spreading means that four times more people are likely to be isolating with Covid this Christmas than last December 25, when household mixing was banned across much of the country and a third national shutdown was imminent, the report said.
Anyone becoming ill from today onwards will still be in the required ten-day isolation period on Christmas Day.
Yesterday there were more than 4,700 confirmed Omicron cases, and Ministers claim the number is doubling every two days.At this rate, almost 100,000 people will be confirmed with Omicron on Christmas Eve, and around 1 million will be isolating the next day, the report said.
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs that even if Omicron turned out to be less severe than the Delta variant, the fact it spreads so easily meant ‘it still has the potential to overwhelm the NHS’.He told Ministers that modellers believe Omicron cases may already be running at ‘200,000 a day’ and ‘doubling every two to three days’.
However, some experts have cast doubt on the figure, which is far higher than the official Covid total and which is based on disputed mathematical modelling.Downing Street insisted the projection was ‘valid’, the report said.
Prof Whitty also warned Ministers that astronomical infection rates will spark staff shortages in pubs, restaurants and shops.san/skp/
More than a million in UK will be isolating on Christmas after catching Covid
Yesterday, there were over 4,700 Omicron confirmed cases.
Ministers say that the number keeps increasing by a third every day.The report stated that almost 100,000 Omicron cases will have been confirmed by Christmas Eve and 1,000,000 will be isolated the following day at this pace.Sajid Javid, UK Health Secretary, told MPs Omicron was less serious than Delta but that it still had the potential to overtake the NHS.
Ministers were informed by him that Omicron cases could be already running at around 200,000 per day and double every two or three days.Some experts doubt the estimate, as it is much higher than the Covid total, and is based upon disputed mathematical modeling.The report stated that Downing Street maintained the projection was valid.
Professor Whitty warned ministers about the danger of high rates of infection that could lead to staff shortages at restaurants, shops and pubs.
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