The UK government on Tuesday recorded a record over 200,000 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, as the highly transmissible Omicron strain grows in the country.
It said it had recorded 218,724 infections – the highest daily total since the pandemic began.
Earlier, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the government sees nothing in the data for now to suggest the need for further COVID-19 regulations, even if new cases remain at record levels.
But while hospitalizations and occupancy are “significantly increasing”, cases appear to be less severe than in previous waves of the pandemic, spokesman Max Blaine told reporters at a regular briefing on Tuesday.
“We are not seeing the same surge in beds that require ventilation,” he said. “At the moment we do not see any data to suggest that further restriction would be the right approach.”
The comments suggest Johnson will stick with lighter-touch rules that have characterized his approach to the latest wave of the coronavirus while relying on his vaccine booster program while allowing businesses to remain open.
On Wednesday, the government is due to announce the findings of a review of existing measures, which include mandatory face masks in some settings and COVID-19 certification to gain entry to venues and large events.
When introduced last month, they triggered the biggest rebellion of Conservative members of parliament during Johnson’s time in office, leaving little room for them to maneuver when it comes to tightening rules. Is.
While the government is likely to retain the current measures for now, the law has a sunset clause that means they expire on January 26.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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