COVID-19 cases in UK exceed 100K for first time

More than 100,000 daily COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the United Kingdom for the first time, marking a worrisome milestone as the country sees a surge of new infections and grapples with the spread of the omicron variant.

On Wednesday, 106,122 cases were reported by the U.K., according to the BBC. 

The implementation of new coronavirus restrictions before Christmas was ruled out by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday. He did not rule out implementing such measures after the holidays if the situation continues to worsen, however, Reuters reported.

According to data from the U.K., roughly 90 percent of people aged 12 years and older in the country have been at least partially vaccinated, while 82 percent have received a second dose. The percentage of those in that age group who have received their boosters is at 55 percent.

The United States is also grappling with a surge of new COVID-19 cases amid the spread of the omicron variant. Early research that is currently under, or still requires, peer review suggests the variant is less severe than other strains of the virus, though health officials have noted that it is very transmissible.

President Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci acknowledged on Sunday that the U.S. could see record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. 

“Do you expect new record high numbers for cases? And what about hospitalizations and deaths?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Fauci.

“Yes, well, unfortunately, Jake, I think that that is going to happen,” Fauci confirmed. “We are going to see a significant stress in some regions of the country on the hospital system, particularly in those areas where you have a low level of vaccination, which is one of the reasons why we continue to stress the importance of getting those unvaccinated people vaccinated.”