UK, US govts on edge as COVID-19 numbers see alarming surge amid Omicron spread

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to rise and the US and the UK are two of the worst-hit countries. Over 512,000 instances were reported in the country on Tuesday. New cases of COVID-19 in the United States reached an all-time high of almost 265,000 per day on average, owing mostly to the highly contagious Omicron variant. As per the reports of AP News, Johns Hopkins University data suggests that the number of new cases each day in the US has more than doubled in the last two weeks, surpassing the previous high of 250,000 in mid-January.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the number of Americans hospitalised with COVID-19 is now approximately 60,000. CDC data suggest that the unvaccinated are hospitalised at substantially higher rates than the vaccinated. Over the last two weeks, the number of deaths in the United States has increased from an average of 1,200 per day to roughly 1,500. 

183,037 COVID cases in the UK

In the UK, on the other hand, the number of COVID cases has reached a new high of 183,037 on Wednesday. Officials earlier this week claimed that the Omicron variant accounts for 90% of all community cases in England. Over the previous seven days, 914,723 people in the UK have tested positive for COVID. UK National Health Service (NHS) data suggests that a total of 10,462 patients in England were hospitalised with COVID on Wednesday morning. This is a 48% increase from the previous week and the most admissions since March 1, according to BBC. Within 28 days, 57 people died in the United Kingdom.

914,723 persons in the UK have tested positive for Covid in the last seven days. UK Health Security Agency chief Dr Jenny Harries asked individuals to use testing they have at home, according to BBC. She also stated that they need to study data for a few weeks to be completely clear which way this wave is going.

COVID-19 cases worldwide climbed by 11% last week

WHO claims that the number of new COVID-19 cases worldwide climbed by 11% last week compared to the previous week, with over 4.99 million cases documented between December 20 and 26. However, the United Nations Health Organization reported a drop in cases in South Africa, where Omicron was discovered a little over a month ago.

(Inputs from AP News)

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