The UK has recorded the highest daily total of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began as the country faces “two epidemics on top of one another” as Omicron spreads.Prof Chris Whitty, the UK Chief Medical Officer, warned that the Omicron variant taking over from the Delta strain was a “very serious threat” He spoke alongside Boris Johnson at a Downing Street press conference where the Prime Minister made a renewed plea for people to “get boosted now” with a third dose of covid vaccine.
Johnson urged the public to “give Omicron both barrels” as official figures published showed there had been a record 78,610 new cases of coronavirus as of 9am on Wednesday and that hospitalisations were increasing.