LONDON : The United Kingdom reported 82,886 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and 45 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, government statistics showed.
Cases were up 51.9% over the seven days to Dec. 19 compared with the previous week. The surge in cases was piling pressure on a health service struggling with staff sickness, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said earlier this week.
Omicron is so transmissible that even if it proves to be milder than other variants, it could still cause a surge in hospital admissions, Whitty told lawmakers. "It is possible, because this is going to be very concentrated over a short period of time, even if it's milder, you could end up with a higher number than that going into hospital on a