VIRAL LOAD
Daily Covid cases have ALREADY breached 100,000 – as infections up 53% on last week
DAILY cases of coronavirus have already hit over 100,000, and infections are up 53 per cent on last week, new data has revealed.
The updated figures comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to make an announcement in the next 48 hours on further restrictions.
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In an update to the government dashboard, charts and graphs reveal that 102,297 people tested positive on December 15.
Today a further 90,629 cases were reported, a fall of just 1.2 per cent from yesterday's 91,743.
Sadly, a further 172 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were also reported, compared to 44 deaths yesterday.
Last Tuesday there were 59,610 daily cases and 150 deaths.
Hospital admissions also up on last week - 772 last Tuesday and 926 today.
Omicron cases in the UK are now at 60,508, after a further 15,363 cases of the new variant were recorded.
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Make-or-break modelling from top Government advisers is also expected as soon as today to force the PM to take action.
It takes a couple of weeks for case numbers to transpire into hospital admissions, but experts say this is already being seen in London.
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Professor Rupert Pearse, an intensive care doctor in London, said vaccines will have a “very important impact” in holding back more hospitalisations, even with Omicron.
The steep rise in infections and the spread of Omicron is why the government expanded booster vaccines to all adults.
Second doses are now also available to teenagers - in a bid to make sure everyone has protection this Christmas.
Jabs prevent severe disease and three doses are estimated to be 80 per cent effective against the Omicron strain, figures from Imperial College London show.
The Sun is also urging readers to sign up to the Jabs Army campaign to make the rollout as smooth and fast as possible.
A booster shot is the best protection against Omicron, with early data suggesting it pushes efficacy back up to 75 per cent.
Dr Jenny Harries, UKHSA Chief Executive said: “Once again, we urge everyone who is able to get a booster jab to come forward and do so. It is the best defence we have against this highly transmissible new variant."
The UK is today set to hit nearly 30million people boosted with a third dose – half of the population.
In England, more than two thirds of people aged 18 and over have now received their top up protection, including more than four in five of people aged 50 and over.
In stats released today, it was revealed that over 51.5 million people have had a first dose of a jab, 47.1 million have had two doses and 29.8 million have had a booster shot.
However, case numbers are also at a record-high due to the fast spreading Omicron variant.
Prof Pearse warned the delaying taking extra steps to control Covid could be harmful to the NHS.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If you wait for hospital admissions to rise, the opportunity to do anything about that is over, it’s gone, and the harm to our healthcare system will be done.
“In London we’ve seen cases double, and I think we are seeing the wave of admissions now.
“If you look at UK-wide figures you can’t see an uptick in hospital admissions just yet. But we know it’s coming and it will spread across the country.”
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Daily UK hospital admissions have gone up by a small six per cent in the past week.
But in London, admissions have sky-rocketed by 30 per cent in one week.
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