Long lines have formed for booster shots across England as the British government urged all adults to protect themselves against the Omicron variant.Credit:AP
The number of infections recorded on Wednesday across Britain was 78,610,an increase of 19 per cent on the prior seven-day period,with the true figure expected to be closer to 200,000.
Infections were highest in London,where only two-thirds are vaccinated,but were strong across the entire country. The number of patients admitted to hospital was up 10 per cent compared with the week before with a total 7673 beds occupied by people with the virus.
At the peak of Britain’s worst wave last January and before the vaccination rollout had taken effect,about 40,000 beds were occupied by patients with the virus.
“[Omicron] is moving at an absolutely phenomenal pace,” said England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty.
“This is a very serious threat. This is going to lead to lots of people getting ill simultaneously and we have to be realistic about that.”
The morning rush-hour at Waterloo railway station in London.Credit:AP
Whitty said even if the Omicron variant did prove weaker –as some data coming out of South Africa,where Omicron emerged,suggests – any benefit would be outpaced by the variant’s pace of transmission,with infection rates doubling every two days.