UK records over 200,000 daily COVID cases for first time but PM Johnson resists new curbs

As the daily cases of COVID-19 strain Omicron are rising in the United Kingdom, the nation has recorded 218,724 fresh coronavirus infections in the most recent 24-hour period, surpassing the daily mark of 200,000 cases for the very first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. With this, the coronavirus tally of the UK has reached 13,641,520. Despite the rising number, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed his optimism that England would be able to "ride out" the existing COVID-19 wave without more limitations, as per BBC.

The UK PM has announced that there was a "good possibility" he would not implement further restrictions and that he would advise ministers on Wednesday to continue the administration's "Plan B" policy in England. However, he conceded that a rise in Omicron cases might cause certain sectors of the NHS to become temporarily overburdened, BBC reported.  

Furthermore, Johnson declared that 100,000 vital workers will be subjected to daily examinations. To prevent the virus from spreading to coworkers, a testing program will begin on January 10 for essential businesses like food processing, transportation, and the border force. .

UK Health Secretary confirms that the government will not abandon Plan B

Meanwhile, the UK government confirmed an additional 48 coronavirus-related fatalities. According to the official release, the total number of deaths due to the disease in Britain has now reached 148,941, with 14,126 COVID-19 patients remaining in the hospital.  

Earlier on Tuesday, British Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News that there is currently no evidence to indicate that Britain should abandon Plan B, which includes guidelines for working from home and the use of face masks in most public indoor settings. According to him, the British administration has no plans to reduce the length of the isolation period from seven to five days, as the US has done. 

As per the latest COVID-19 tally reported by Xinhua, over 90% of individuals aged 12 and older in the United Kingdom have received their first dose of vaccination, while over 82% have obtained both the COVID-19 doses. In addition to this, PM Boris Johnson has earlier cautioned the UK citizens by saying that even if the 'highly mutated' coronavirus strain Omicron appears to be 'milder' than past varieties, it would be "absolute folly" to believe the COVID-19 epidemic is over. 

(Image: AP)