LONDON (Reuters – On Sunday, around 1 in 10 Londoners were thought to have COVID-19. This was according to new estimates from the government. These figures highlight the rapid growth of the Omicron variant.
Daily modelled estimates produced by the Office for National Statistics showed that around 9.5 percent of Londoners had COVID-19 on Sunday, within a 95% confidence range of 8.43% to 10.69 percent.
These figures were released a day after Britain had recorded a record number coronavirus cases due to the Omicron variant. The daily count reached 119,789, up from 106,122 one day earlier.
On Sunday, ONS modeling showed that 600,000 more people in England were diagnosed with COVID in the five days preceding Sunday. This brought current infections to more than 2 million. This increased the rate of infection in England to 1 in 25 people from 1 in 40 as of Dec. 14.
According to the latest estimates, prevalence increased across the United Kingdom during the week leading up to Sunday. However, the data revealed that the rates of infection in Scotland were at a low level, with 1 out of 65.
Many industries and transport networks are facing staff shortages, as sick workers isolate themselves, and hospitals in Britain have warned of the possibility of an impact on patient safety.
Omicron’s rapid rise has led to a surge in cases in Britain over the past seven days and the number of cases increased by 678,165 cases, government figures revealed on Thursday.
The Conservative government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson is trying to reduce the economic impact of the latest COVID-19 epidemic. On Wednesday, the government announced that it would reduce the self-isolation period that is legal for England to seven days starting at 10.
