The highly contagious omicron variant is already dominant in England and Scotland. A total of just under 91,000 Omicron cases are currently confirmed in the United Kingdom, but it is assumed that there is a high number of unreported cases.
The British statistical agency, which regularly tests a randomly selected, representative sample, estimates that in the week up to December 16 alone in England more than 1.2 million people were infected with the coronavirus – that is 1 in 45 people. This value should be even higher this week.
Omikron is also already making itself clearly noticeable in the health system: The sick days of medical employees in connection with Covid-19 rose by 38 percent on a weekly basis, as the Guardian reported, citing figures from the health service. Those responsible assume that this trend will continue to intensify.