The UK Records 88.376 COVID-19 Cases, Highest Daily Infection Record Amid Omicron Variant Threats

Illustration of a COVID-19 test center in the UK. (Wikimedia Commons/Auledas)

JAKARTA - New cases of COVID-19 in the UK hit a record high for a second straight day on Thursday, as Britain's Chief Medical Officer warned daily hospital admissions could also hit new peaks due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Britain reported 88.376 new infections, the highest since the start of the pandemic and up about 10.000 since the previous record set on Wednesday.

The spike in daily infection cases is increasing pressure on healthcare services struggling with overwhelmed staff, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Thursday.

The Omicron variant is highly contagious, so even if it proves to be milder than other variants, it could still lead to a spike in hospital admissions, Whitty told lawmakers.

Previously, the record number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was 4,583 set in January.

"It's possible, because it's going to be so concentrated in a short period of time, even if it's lighter, you could end up with a higher number of people going to the hospital in one day," he said.

However, he said vaccination could reduce the number of people admitted to intensive care, shortening the time spent in the hospital. As of Thursday, there were 849 admissions.

Meanwhile, Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK's Health Safety Agency, said there were 15 proven cases of Omicron in hospital, but the number was likely to be much higher.

Although new cases are at a record high according to official data, the UK did not have the mass testing capacity in March 2020, when the pandemic first hit the country, so the scale of infection at the time was unknown.

Separately, a senior emergency doctor said hospitals, particularly in London, were struggling to maintain staff levels due to the number that had to be isolated with COVID-19.

"Even if we haven't seen a major increase in hospitalizations, we are already seeing the effects of not having the staff to run shifts properly and safely," Katherine Henderson, emergency consultant in London and president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told BBC Radio.

"So we're worried about patient injuries that occur because we don't have staff."

The education minister also warned of the problem of staff shortages, and said his department would work with former teachers looking to return to the profession to help.

The UK is optimistic that booster doses of the vaccine will prevent the serious disease from Omicron. The government has also advised people to work from home, mandated the wearing of masks in public places, and has introduced COVID-19 permits to enter some venues and events in the UK, but has halted previous lockdown measures.

"If it looks like a vaccine is less effective than we expected, that would for example be a material change to the way ministers view risk going forward," Whitty said.