LONDON, Dec. 23 — People with Omicron are significantly less likely to develop severe symptoms, according to a new analysis by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) released Thursday.
Early results suggest people are 30-45 percent less likely to go to A&E if they are infected with Omicron than with Delta. They are also 50-70 percent less likely to need to be admitted to hospital, according to the UKHSA.
However, the UKHSA warned that the new variant was more transmissible than previous ones such as Delta, and could still lead to significant numbers of people needing hospital treatment over coming weeks.
Britain reported a record high of 119,789 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 11,769,921, according to official figures released Thursday.
Another 16,817 Omicron cases have been found in Britain, the biggest daily increase since the COVID-19 variant was detected in the country, taking the total Omicron cases found in the country to 90,906.
The country also reported a further 147 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 147,720.
Meanwhile, an estimated 1.4 million people in Britain had COVID-19 in the week ending Dec. 16. It is the highest number since comparable figures began in autumn 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Around one in 45 people in private households in England had COVID in the week to Dec. 16, up from one in 60 the previous week.
According to new modeling for scientists advising the government, tougher COVID restrictions are going to be needed to stop hospitals from being overwhelmed.
Experts at the University of Warwick estimate that even if Omicron’s severity is just 20 percent of Delta’s, the current plan B restrictions are likely to lead to a peak in daily hospital admissions of just under 5,000 a day in England in early January.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which has been advising the government during the pandemic, has warned that COVID data over the Christmas period will be “significantly disrupted.”
In minutes from a meeting on Dec. 20, the group said that “testing behavior and capacity limits may already be affecting case data”, which would make “interpretation of trends difficult”.
Experts have said there are likely to be hundreds of thousands of infections per day – with many being missed.
More than 89 percent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 82 percent have received both doses, according to the latest figures. More than 55 percent have received booster jabs or the third dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia, and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. (Xinhua)
Omicron less likely to cause severe symptoms: UKHSA
