Omicron Wave Heads for U.K., but It’s Not Clear How Bad It’ll Be
Britain could be a bellwether of what other countries will see from the new coronavirus variant. Officials say Omicron could account for most cases within weeks.
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Omicron Wave Heads for U.K., but It’s Not Clear How Bad It’ll Be
Britain could be a bellwether of what other countries will see from the new coronavirus variant. Officials say Omicron could account for most cases within weeks.
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The Westminster subway station in London on Thursday. Britain had reported 817 Omicron cases by Thursday, though officials say the real figure is likely much higher.
The Westminster subway station in London on Thursday. Britain had reported 817 Omicron cases by Thursday, though officials say the real figure is likely much higher.Credit…Alberto Pezzali/Associated Press
LONDON — With cases of the Omicron variant doubling every three days and the government doing an about-face on restrictions it had long resisted, Britain is bracing for a new coronavirus surge, unsure if it will be a relatively minor event or a return to the dark days of earlier pandemic waves.
So far, the number of Omicron cases — 817 confirmed by Thursday, though officials say the real figure is likely much higher — is small compared with the daily average of 48,000 new coronavirus cases overall. But the government’s Health Security Agency warned that if the recent growth rate continues, “we expect to see at least 50 percent of Covid-19 cases to be caused by the Omicron variant in the next two to four weeks.”
Early evidence in Britain backs up tentative findings elsewhere, notably in South Africa, where the heavily mutated new variant is already widespread: It appears to be the most contagious form of the virus yet, a previous case of Covid-19 provides little immunity to it, and vaccines seem less effective against it. But it also seems to cause less severe illness than earlier variants.
