Can the UK address the Omicron surge?

With proof that the Omicron variant is much less extreme, the federal government is beneath strain to go no additional with restrictions, however staffing shortages and an increase in admissions have led to hospitals throughout England declaring ‘essential incidents’.

Science correspondent Nicola Davis tells Nosheen Iqbal that it’s far too quickly to declare the worst is behind us with knowledge solely now been launched from a disrupted vacation interval the place many individuals modified their behaviour. It’s within the coming days or perhaps weeks that we are going to study simply how disruptive – and lethal – the newest wave of Covid infections can be.

However there are causes to be optimistic too: fears that Omicron may very well be extra dangerous to kids than Delta haven’t materialised within the UK, and there’s a rising stockpile of modern medicine which might be proving efficient at treating the virus and stopping deaths.

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