UK records highest daily Covid case toll of pandemic amid warning Omicron wave may peak ‘fast’

Almost 90,000 new cases have been reported while Omicron continues to take hold

The UK has reported a record number of new Covid cases for the second day in a row, amid warnings the Omicron wave could peak “really quite fast”.

A total of 88,376 infections were recorded on Wednesday, a rise from the 78,610 identified the previous day, and 146 more people died.

The highest new case numbers so far were revealed as the government insisted that it is not encouraging people to cancel their plans this Christmas, although it emerged earlier that the Queen has scrapped her festive family party next week.

The hospitality industry is continuing to experience a mass of cancellations of parties and events – leading Labour to demand that the government “hammers out a deal to help hospitality” firms that are taking a financial hit ahead of Christmas.

The total number of confirmed Omicron cases in the UK is 11,708, government data shows. There has also been one Omicron-linked death. The man in his 70s, known only as John, was unvaccinated and died in a Northamptonshire hospital on Monday, it emerged today.

Earlier, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warned at the Commons Health and Social Care Committee that the Omicron wave will “peak quite fast” this winter and said hospitalisation figures were set to rise.

He said: “I think what we will see with this, and I think we are seeing it in South Africa, is that the upswing will be incredibly fast even if people are taking more cautious actions – as they are – that will help slow it down, but it is still going to be very fast.

“It will probably peak really quite fast and my anticipation is it may come down faster than previous peaks, but I wouldn’t want to say that for sure.

“In terms of where we are going over the next few weeks, the rate of increase is going to be quite impressive.”

Prof Whitty has also predicted that the pandemic could last “possibly 18 months” more and that “each six months will be better than the last six months” as vaccines will eventually cover all Covid variants.

He said the government’s newly-imposed plan B measures and “really critically the booster programme” are intended to slow things down, and suggested there are some “really key bits of information” missing that would inform the need for a lockdown.

Both prime minister Boris Johnson and Prof Whitty have denied putting the UK “into effective lockdown” after Tory MP Steve Brine accused medical advisers of “running the show” on government policy during the pandemic.

Greg Parmley, chief executive of industry body Live, has described the plan B measures – such as the need to show proof of Covid immunity to enter big venues – as “lockdown by stealth” and said that it “is quickly pushing the live music sector to the edge”.

Mr Johnson has urged people to be “cautious” about their activities during the festive period, but said the government does not “want to make your choices for you about your social life”.

He made the comments during a visit to the Saga vaccination centre in Ramsgate, Kent, as Prof Whitty was grilled by the committee.

He said that he did not wish to dictate to people what they can and cannot do, adding: “This is about saying to people, look, this is a period to prioritise. And also to be clear, [this] was a message the prime minister also said last night.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has returned to the UK early after it was revealed he was on a work trip to California, insisted the government was “not telling people to cancel things” and was “not closing down businesses”.

He is returning to hold talks with business chiefs in response to fears the Omicron wave could devastate pubs and restaurants over Christmas.

It comes as the governments in Scotland and Wales considered imposing tougher restrictions than are currently in place in order to limit the spread of Omicron. Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak to not “sleepwalk into an emergency” caused by rapidly rising Omicron cases.

The fast-spreading variant is believed to be driving up case rates in London and the east of England to their highest levels since early January.

The capital recorded 702.8 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 12 December, up sharply from 475.8 the previous week, and the highest rate for the capital since the week to 10 January, figures show.

The number of people in London hospitalised with Covid has risen by 26 per cent in a week, according to government figures. On 16 December, there were 1,460 patients with Covid in hospital, an increase of 297 people over the week before.

The London borough that saw the biggest surge in Covid cases is Lambeth, increasing from 509.6 to 962.7 cases per 100,000 people.