London: The United Kingdom on Thursday reported 88,376 COVID-19 cases, breaking the previous record for the highest number of cases ever recorded since the pandemic began.
#OmicronVariant latest information 1,691 additional confirmed cases of the #Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been reported across the UK. Confirmed Omicron cases in the UK now total 11,708,” said UK Health Security Agency.
“The #COVID19 Dashboard has been updated: http://coronavirus.data.gov.uk On 16 December, 88,376 new cases and 146 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported across the UK,” it added.
The new record comes amid a surge in infections caused by the more transmissible Omicron variant. Experts say that this new variant is doubling its number every two or three days and will soon become dominant in the UK.
The latest figures have taken the total number of COVID-19 infections in the UK to 11 million, while the death toll now stands at 147,937 since the pandemic began.
As of December 16, 25,477,345 booster and third vaccine doses have been given in the UK.