More than a million cases a day by Christmas Eve
London/UK Times this morning had this headline: “How bad will Omicron get?” with these highlights: “The World Health Organisation classified the B.1.1.529 Covid strain, Omicron, as a 'variant of concern' on November 26. That same day two travellers who had recently returned from South Africa — one in Brentwood, the other in Nottingham — took tests that would confirm them as the first cases in Britain. Omicron’s takeover needed under three weeks. On Tuesday it became the dominant variant in England. London has been an Omicron city since Sunday. For evidence of its daunting growth, look no further than daily case numbers. Since 'freedom day' in July, we have become used to tens of thousands of infections — but last week 59,610 daily cases became 78,610, then 88,376, then 93,045. For months cases were bumpy; now we are in exponential growth, where the language of 'doubling times' takes over. How high will infections get, and when will they peak? And more importantly, how many deaths will follow? Experts warned last week of doubling times as low as two days. The latest figures suggest that there were about 40,000 Omicron cases in England on Tuesday. By Saturday, doubling every two days, that figure would have been 160,000. More than a million cases a day by Christmas Eve
Anna Watson/AlamyHealth chiefs are watching London closely to see if soaring Omicron cases are followed by a corresponding spike in hospital admissions The Wor
www.thetimes.co.uk