Britain reported another day of record COVID-19 cases, with new estimates showing many Londoners carrying the virus
Omicron's rapid spread has driven a surge in cases over the last seven days, especially in the capital.
However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has staked considerable political capital on the Christmas of 2021 being "considerably better" than the previous year, on Tuesday ruled out new restrictions before the day itself, saying that there was uncertainty about the severity of Omicron and hospitalisation rates.
"There is a glimmer of Christmas hope... but it definitely isn't yet at the point where we could downgrade that serious threat," Jenny Harries, head of the UK Health Security Agency, told the BBC. On Friday the government reported 137 new deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, down from 147 on Thursday, and bringing the total during the pandemic to 147,857 - the highest in Europe.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
UK sets new record for COVID cases as Omicron sweeps LondonLONDON (Reuters) -Britain reported another day of record COVID-19 cases on Friday, with new estimates showing swathes of London's population are carrying the virus, underlining the relentless advance of the Omicron variant. Omicron's rapid spread has driven a surge in cases over the last seven days, especially in the capital. Around 1 in 20 Londoners likely had COVID-19 on Dec. 16 and early estimates - which could yet be revised - suggest this may have risen to 1 in 10 on Sunday, models from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Friday.
Read more »
Traumatized and exhausted hospital staff face new wave of Covid cases as omicron rips through U.S.The highly contagious omicron variant can more easily infect vaccinated staff than previous strains, threatening to further exacerbate the worker shortage.
Read more »
St. Louis reports 15.6 percent rise in COVID cases in past week, unsure if Omicron cause'The community is not as safe as it was a month ago, and you should consider that as you plan your activities,' the St. Louis County Health Department said.
Read more »
Omicron Variant Accounts For At Least 50-70% Of New Covid Cases In California, Likely More“Fifty percent of all of the sequenced genomes identify themselves as Omicron,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday. He was speaking of the positive Covid tests and waste…
Read more »
CDC shortens COVID isolation period for health care workers as Omicron cases surgeThe CDC on Thursday shortened the recommended isolation time for health care workers who test positive for COVID-19 from 10 days to seven days if they're asymptomatic.Driving the news: The new guidance follows calls by health officials for the CDC to shorten its recommendation on isolation for fully vaccinated people who test positive due to concerns about the Omicron variant.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeSome health experts h
Read more »