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The UK has registered its worst daily figure for coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic, as fears grow over the spread of the Omicron strain. Some 78, 000 new cases have been recorded 鈥� ten thousand more than the previous worst figure, recorded in January.

Similarly, the European Union has warned that the Omicron variant could overwhelm healthcare systems in the EU without additional measures such as social distancing, masks and booster vaccinations. Newsday heard more from Devi Sridhar, Professor & Chair of Global Public Health at Edinburgh University:

鈥淭he important thing to know about Omicron is that it鈥檚 highly transmissible, doubling time looks between 2 and 3 days 鈥� incredibly fast. It seems to be able to re-infect people who have had covid before and are fully vaccinated and the attack rate at indoor gatherings is very high.鈥�

鈥淎nd this is why we鈥檙e seeing a take-off of cases and (it鈥檚) a warning to the world that what鈥檚 happening in Britain is probably going to happen in every country where this is seeded. This virus is so transmissible that if you aren鈥檛 vaccinated it will find you.鈥�

(Pic: A woman receives a covid-19 vaccination in London; Credit: Reuters)

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