Omicron alert: UK records over 100,000 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

UK on Wednesday reported 106,122 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours as the Omicron variant continues to surge in the country.

It is the highest number of daily COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The country had recorded 90,629 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.

London has witnessed a surge in Omicron cases with hospitalisations steadily increasing as the government moved to approve vaccines for children aged five to 11.

The UK government had earlier declared that it was cutting the isolation period for positive cases from ten to seven days even as Wales and Scotland announced new curbs post Christmas. The Omicron variant has now become the dominant strain in England.

However, UK PM Boris Johnson had insisted that no new curbs would be imposed until Christmas while health minister Sajid Javid declared that the "decision is finely balanced" with data being monitored on a daily basis.

The World Health Organisation(WHO) warned Omicron will become the dominant strain in Europe at the start of the new year and it was already the dominant strain in Portugal, Denmark and Britain.

Meanwhile, Wales imposed social distancing norms amid the Omicron surge with table service made mandatory in restaurants from December 26.

Britain is one of the worst-hit countries due to the virus with over 147, 570 fatalities and 11 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began last year. The country has witnessed a steep rise in COVID-19 despite the majority of citizens being vaccinated against the virus and booster shots campaign also underway.

(With inputs from Agencies)