Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the growth of Omicron cases in the UK is “now mirroring the rapid increase we’re seeing in South Africa”, telling MP in the House of Commons: “The current observed doubling time is around every two days.
“Although yesterday we reported there were 4,713 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, the UKHSA estimates that the number of daily infections was 42 times higher, at 200,000.
“Scientists have never seen a Covid-19 variant that’s capable of spreading so rapidly so we have to look at what we can do to slow Omicron’s advance.”
Sajid Javid in the House of Commons
The Health Minister said the Government does not have a “complete picture of Omicron’s severity”, adding: “Even if severity is significantly lower then the much higher transmissibility of Omicron means it still has the potential to overwhelm the NHS.
“Take the current observed doubling time of two days and let’s say just for argument’s sake that Omicron was only half as severe as Delta, after the lag between cases and hospitalisations has taken effect then this would only buy you two days before Omicron hospitalisations reach the same level as Delta.
“In England, 10 people are confirmed to have been hospitalised with the Omicron variant. I know some MPs have said that because confirmed hospitalisations from Omicron are low then we don’t need to act.
“But it’s the fact that Omicron hospitalisations are low that means it’s the best time to act and we’ve seen during previous waves the lag between infections and hospitalisation is about two weeks.
“When infections are rising so quickly, we’re likely to see a substantial rise in hospitalisations before any measure is starting to have an impact so there really is no time to lose.”
His speech comes as Professor Chris Whitty warned ministers to brace for a “significant increase in hospitalisations” from Omicron, as Downing Street insisted no further coronavirus restrictions are being planned.
England’s chief medical officer also told a virtual Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that it is “too early to say how severe” the strain is after early suggestions from South Africa that it could be relatively mild.
Boris Johnson also warned his ministers that he believes a “huge spike” of cases of the variant will hit the nation, as he pressures Tory rebels to back his new Plan B restrictions during a Commons vote.
Downing Street did not reject a suggestion that new Omicron cases could hit a million per day next week based on a “valid” estimate from the UK Health Security Agency that daily infections are currently around 200,000.
