Boris Johnson urges caution on Christmas plans as Chris Whitty says UK cases record first of many. Boris Johnson has advised people to cut back on Christmas partying and “think carefully” before heading out this festive season, shortly after the UK recorded a record 78,610 daily Covid-19 cases. However, he insisted that further restrictions were not needed to fight the omicron variant.
Britain Prime minister admitted that the UK has recorded the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with 78,610 reported on Wednesday. At a press conference, Boris Johnson urged people to “get boosted now”.
England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, warned that Covid records “will be broken a lot” in the next few weeks due to the Omicron variant and its “phenomenal” speed of transmission.
He said people should “prioritise what matters” with regards to social mixing in the run-up to Christmas.
South Africa – one of the first countries to detect the Omicron variant – also reported its highest-ever number of new cases in a single day.
The EU’s public health body meanwhile warned Omicron could become the dominant strain in the bloc by the start of next year.
