Amid Omicron emergence, UK braces for 1 million cases and recommends working from home

The UK may reach one million Omicron cases by the end of the month, said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Wednesday.

UKHSA said that omicron is displaying a significant growth advantage over the delta variant, “meaning that it is likely to outcompete delta in the U.K. and become the dominant variant.”

The UK health agency data shows increased household transmission risk, increased secondary attack rates (the chance of each case infecting another individual), and increased growth rates compared to Delta.

The U.K. faces currently “twin threats” from both omicron and the delta variant, which still makes up the majority of global cases.

“If the growth rate and doubling time continue at the rate we have seen in the last 2 weeks, we expect to see at least 50% of coronavirus cases to be caused by omicron variant in the next 2 to 4 weeks,” UKHSA said in a statement, according to CNBC.

Currently, the U.K. has recorded 568 confirmed cases of the variant, but the U.K.’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid told British lawmakers Wednesday evening that “we know that the actual number of infections will be significantly higher.”

The omicron variant was first spotted in South Africa in November and was reported to the World Health Organization on Nov. 24. The WHO labeled it a “variant of concern” two days later, noting it had mutations associated with increased transmissibility.

Since then, the variant has been identified in 57 countries across the world, according to the WHO’s latest tally, and there are increasing cases of community transmission with no links to travel.

Preliminary data suggest the omicron variant is more transmissible than delta, but causes milder illness, and could undermine the effectiveness of Covid vaccines currently in use.

However, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19 stressed Wednesday that it is “too early to conclude” that omicron symptoms are weaker. The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added that omicron could change the course of the pandemic.

A raft of countries responded to news of the variant by banning flights or introducing quarantines on visitors from southern African countries, where the omicron variant was first detected, as many are already dealing with a surge in delta cases as winter approaches.

The U.K. went further on Wednesday, advising people who could work from home and introducing stricter measures on mask-wearing and the use of Covid passes.

Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla said on Wednesday that people might need a fourth Covid-19 shot sooner than expected, while many countries are racing to roll out third booster shots.

Poorer countries are still trying to vaccinate their populations with the first set of shots, which helps reduce severe infection, hospitalization, and death.