London:
The UK on Friday announced a new record number of virus cases filled by the Omicron variant.
The government reported 122,186 new cases in the past 24 hours, more than 2,000 more than Thursday’s figure.
The UK is one of the hardest hit countries in Europe with a virus death toll of 147,857.
The number of cases has increased by 48 percent in the past 7 days compared to the week before, while hospitalizations and death rates have risen much less sharply.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Thursday that figures to date show that the risk of hospitalization with an Omicron infection is up to 70 percent lower than with the previously dominant Delta variant.
However, the government agency warned that the results were “preliminary and very uncertain” as they are based on a small sample of hospital admissions so far.
UKHSA CEO Jenny Harries told BBC Radio 4 on Friday that the data offers “a glimmer of Christmas hope”, but “it is certainly not yet at the point where we can downgrade that serious threat”.
Due to the holidays, the government will no longer update the virus case figures until December 27.
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