The UK Reports More Than 12.000 Cases Of Omicron Variant A Day, Minister Of Health: There Is No Guarantee Of This Pandemic

UK Health Minister Sajid Javid. (Wikimedia Commons/Foreign and Commonwealth Office)

JAKARTA - Britain's Health Secretary on Sunday refused to rule out the possibility of further COVID-19 restrictions before Christmas, saying the spread of the Omicron variant was a very fast-moving situation.

The UK has reported a spike in Omicron cases, which government advisers say could be just the tip of the iceberg. On Saturday, the mayor of London declared a 'major incident' to help the city's hospitals cope.

Asked if he could waive the new restrictions before Christmas, health minister Sajid Javid told BBC Television: "We are assessing the situation, it is moving very quickly."

"I don't think there are any guarantees in this pandemic. At this point, we just need to review everything," he said, citing Reuters December 20.

Minister Javid said the government was monitoring the data "nearly hourly", listening to its scientific advisers, and would balance it with the impact of wider restrictions on things like business and education.

He said much was still unknown about Omicron but waiting for clearer data might be too late to react.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay convened a government emergency committee meeting on Sunday, to discuss the situation with the UK's devolved administration and agree to increase their funding to address the spread of the Omicron variant.

"They agreed to continue to monitor emerging data over the coming days, working closely with businesses and public agencies across the UK to understand their impact on industry and services," a Cabinet Office spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's more than 100 Conservative MPs voted against the government's latest measures to tackle the spread of COVID-19 earlier this week. PM Johnson is facing the biggest crisis in the prime minister's tenure after a series of scandals and missteps.

Asked if PM Johnson was too weak to impose further restrictions, Minister Javid said: "No, if the government feels that further action should be taken, of course, we will present it to parliament and parliament will decide."

The number of confirmed Omicron cases recorded across the country was 37.101 as of 1800 GMT on December 18, Britain's Health Safety Administration said on Sunday, up more than 12.000 cases from 24 hours earlier.

The UK's Health Safety Administration said on Twitter there had been an additional 12.133 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 37.101.

Twelve people believed to have the Omicron variant died on Friday. Minister Javid said the true number of Omicron infections was likely to be much higher.

The number of all new COVID-19 cases reported in official data on Sunday was 82.886, up 51.9 percent over the seven days to December 19 compared with the previous week.

Additionally, Minister Javid said the government believed around 60 percent of the UK's new COVID-19 cases were now Omicron.

Separately, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he thought the new restrictions were inevitable otherwise health services would be on the verge of collapse under pressure alongside staff shortages and increased hospitalizations.