In UK's London, one in every 10 people likely infected with COVID-19: Study

United Kingdom's new official estimates revealed that one out of every ten people in London was likely infected with COVID-19, citing the rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the country. The Office for National Statistics' (ONS) daily modelled estimates revealed that about 10% of Londoners have COVID-19 as of December 19, reported Bloomberg. On Friday, December 24, as many as 122,186 new confirmed cases were reported across the country, marking the third consecutive daily high, while minutes from a meeting of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's scientific advisers revealed that Omicron hospitalizations are doubling every four to five days. 

The government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies warned that a major wave of hospital admission could be expected as infections spread to older age groups. Given the significant increase in infections in all age groups and regions, including in London, such a wave should be expected soon, they noted. According to the UK Health Security Agency, patients with Omicron are 50% to 70% less likely to be hospitalised in comparison to the previously dominant Delta strain. However, the agency warned that the variant's highly contagious characteristics could result in a large number of serious illnesses, putting pressure on the health system. It also stated that evidence showed booster vaccine effectiveness waned faster against Omicron than Delta. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision not to impose further restrictions to stem the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID has been met with dismay by many scientists. They argued that waiting until the new year will be "too late" to have a significant impact on the pandemic. It may also be too late to tell what impact those limits would have had if they had been implemented earlier because the rate of growth in infection rates may have stagnated or dropped by then, they believed, as reported by The Guardian. 

PM Johnson faced backlash over his proposal to impose new COVID limitations

It should be mentioned here that last week PM Johnson faced a massive backlash over his proposal to impose new COVID limitations. On December 14, several Conservative MPs spoke out against the government in Parliament, resulting in the biggest Tory rebellion against the Johnson-led government. As per reports, more than 80 Conservative backbenchers have indicated that they are prepared to protest to new COVID laws, which include mandatory face masks, quarantine, vaccine passports, and mandatory vaccinations for NHS employees. 

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