Record COVID-19 cases reported in UK

The United Kingdom recorded a record number of daily COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, eclipsing the previous record that was set in January.

The U.K. reported 78,610 daily COVID-19 cases, which was roughly 10,000 more infections that the previous record set in January, according to Reuters.

With Monday’s tally included, more than 11 million people have tested positive for the virus in the U.K. since the onset of the pandemic, according to the news wire.

The record-high number of cases comes as concerns are rising regarding the highly mutated omicron variant, which was first discovered in South Africa last month.

Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the U.K. Health Security Agency, said Wednesday that the omicron strain is “probably the most significant threat” since the pandemic first started last year. She also warned that the public should expect to see a “staggering” growth in cases in the coming weeks.

At least one person has died in the U.K. after contracting the omicron variant.

Last week, the U.K. Health Secretary Agency said the variant would be the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Europe by mid-December.

To prepare for a “tidal wave of omicron,” as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it on Sunday, the U.K. is ramping up its booster shot initiative. The prime minister said that while it appears that two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will not be protective against the omicron strain, a booster shot will likely “bring our level of protection back up.”

All eligible adults in the U.K. are now able to get a booster shot. British officials are deploying military units to establish more inoculation sites.

With the increased spread of the omicron variant, the U.K. on Wednesday removed 11 African countries from its COVID-19 “red list” because of the high amount of the strain already detected in Britain and around the world.

U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid cited “community transmission” in the U.K. and countries across the globe when informing Parliament about the decision to drop travel bans against the African nations. The restrictions were originally put in place after the strain was first detected in South Africa.