The UK is in a “deeply worrying situation” as more than 58,000 new Covid-19 infections were recorded on Friday, the highest since January, Housing Minister Michael Gove said after a meeting.
Heads of government from various countries in the United Kingdom had to face “very difficult information” during a meeting chaired by the minister and focused on the health situation.
“We know that the number of Covid infections in the UK today is the highest since January 9,” Gove insisted on television.
The number of cases of the Ômicron variant is “increasing every two or three days in England, and even faster in Scotland”, he stressed.
In England, “30% of cases are Ômicron variant”, identified 15 days ago in the country.
The variation is so widespread that even people who get two doses of the vaccine “get sick, infected and hospitalized,” Michael Gove said.
To deal with this new wave of infections, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday that he would return to remote working from Monday and accept health passports for major events.
The UK is one of the worst-hit countries in Europe, with more than 146,000 deaths since the pandemic began.
Recently, measures to combat the new variant have been reintroduced, such as restrictions on borders and transport or the wearing of face masks in shops and public transport.
In turn, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that health rules would be tightened. From Saturday, anyone who shares an address with a person who tests positive will have to self-isolate for ten days.
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