COVID-19’s omicron variant is motivating a spike in cases, with more than 5% of residents in the United Kingdom contracting the virus in a single week, officials said.
One in 20 residents tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week of 2021, the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics estimated in a release on Wednesday.
“Our United Kingdom is in the midst of the fastest growth in COVID cases that we’ve ever known … so anyone who thinks our battle with COVID is over, I’m afraid, is profoundly wrong,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a press conference on Tuesday. “This is a moment for the utmost caution.”
More than 3.2 million people in England tested positive for COVID-19 during the final week of 2021, equating to around 1 in 15 people in England.
OMICRON SPURRING WORK SHORTAGES ACROSS KEY INDUSTRIES
In addition, 157,900 people tested positive in Wales, 72,900 people tested positive in Northern Ireland, and 238,000 tested positive in Scotland during that time period, accounting for 3.7 million, or 5.5%, of the U.K.’s 67.1 million residents.
The U.K. has been dealing with increasingly high numbers of COVID-19 infections in recent weeks, with 2.3 million residents testing positive for the virus between Dec. 16 and Dec. 23, according to the Office for National Statistics. One in 10 London residents tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
More than 218,000 U.K. residents tested positive on Tuesday, the highest number to date, Johnson confirmed at the press conference.
Johnson said he intends to avoid imposing a second lockdown amid the omicron surge in England, saying he was sticking to the “plan B” measures introduced in England in December, such as making masks compulsory, advising offices to work from home, and requiring proof of vaccination for entry into events with large crowds.
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The United States has seen a similar surge of positive tests for COVID-19. The U.S. reported more than 1 million cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest to date, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
