Covid-19: More than 10,000 new Omicron cases found in UK

The UK's daily cases record was broken for a third consecutive day on Friday, with another 93,000 reported.

Cabinet ministers are currently being briefed on the latest Covid data.

London's mayor said he was "incredibly concerned" by the city's infection levels and the major incident was "a statement of how serious things are".

Sadiq Khan said Friday's 26,000 new cases were having an impact on staff absences in the city's emergency services.

"I've been meeting over the last few days, on a daily basis, colleagues across the city from the NHS to councils, from the fire service to the police - we're incredibly concerned by the huge surge in the Omicron variant," he said.

"The big issue we have is the number of Londoners who have this virus and this is leading to big issues in relation to staff absences and the ability of our public services to run at the optimal levels.

"I've taken the decision, in consultation with our partners, to declare a major incident. It's a statement of how serious things are."

How many cases are there in my area?
Latest government data has shown there are 1,534 Covid patients in London hospitals - up 28.6% on last week - with about 200 new admissions per day.

It comes after ministers were warned England's hospital admissions could reach 3,000 a day without new measures.

Covid hospital admissions chart
The World Health Organization has said the Omicron variant has been identified in at least 89 countries - and is spreading significantly faster than the Delta strain.

It is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, it added.

In England, modelling indicates hospital admissions could peak at at least 3,000 a day without intervention measures beyond the Plan B rules currently in place, advisers from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said in the leaked minutes of a meeting held on Thursday.

The current Plan B rules for England include Covid passes for certain events, face masks in more places and people being urged to work from home if they can.

The other nations of the UK have already brought in similar rules - and Scotland has gone further by asking people to limit social contact to three households at a time in the run-up to Christmas. Wales has also ordered nightclubs to close from 27 December.

2px presentational grey line
Analysis box by Nick Triggle, health correspondent
When it comes to Covid hospital admissions it's going to become increasingly important to look behind the headline figures to truly understand the impact of Omicron.

With infection levels rising, it's possible a greater share will be incidental admissions - a patient with a broken leg who happens to test positive for Covid on arrival, for example.

In London more than one in five patients in hospital fall into this category - and it's a proportion that may be just showing the early signs of increasing.

Admissions for Covid are also going up, just not as fast it seems as admissions with Covid.

So direct Covid pressures are still on the rise but just maybe not as fast as headline figures suggest.

Another figure to watch is length of stay for Covid patients.

It has been falling throughout the pandemic.

If it falls again during this Omicron wave that too could relieve the overall pressure.

The UK's daily cases record was broken for a third consecutive day on Friday, with another 93,000 reported.

Cabinet ministers are currently being briefed on the latest Covid data.

London's mayor said he was "incredibly concerned" by the city's infection levels and the major incident was "a statement of how serious things are".

Sadiq Khan said Friday's 26,000 new cases were having an impact on staff absences in the city's emergency services.

"I've been meeting over the last few days, on a daily basis, colleagues across the city from the NHS to councils, from the fire service to the police - we're incredibly concerned by the huge surge in the Omicron variant," he said.

"The big issue we have is the number of Londoners who have this virus and this is leading to big issues in relation to staff absences and the ability of our public services to run at the optimal levels.

"I've taken the decision, in consultation with our partners, to declare a major incident. It's a statement of how serious things are."

How many cases are there in my area?
Latest government data has shown there are 1,534 Covid patients in London hospitals - up 28.6% on last week - with about 200 new admissions per day.

It comes after ministers were warned England's hospital admissions could reach 3,000 a day without new measures.

Covid hospital admissions chart
The World Health Organization has said the Omicron variant has been identified in at least 89 countries - and is spreading significantly faster than the Delta strain.

It is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, it added.

In England, modelling indicates hospital admissions could peak at at least 3,000 a day without intervention measures beyond the Plan B rules currently in place, advisers from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said in the leaked minutes of a meeting held on Thursday.

The current Plan B rules for England include Covid passes for certain events, face masks in more places and people being urged to work from home if they can.

The other nations of the UK have already brought in similar rules - and Scotland has gone further by asking people to limit social contact to three households at a time in the run-up to Christmas. Wales has also ordered nightclubs to close from 27 December.

2px presentational grey line
Analysis box by Nick Triggle, health correspondent
When it comes to Covid hospital admissions it's going to become increasingly important to look behind the headline figures to truly understand the impact of Omicron.

With infection levels rising, it's possible a greater share will be incidental admissions - a patient with a broken leg who happens to test positive for Covid on arrival, for example.

In London more than one in five patients in hospital fall into this category - and it's a proportion that may be just showing the early signs of increasing.

Admissions for Covid are also going up, just not as fast it seems as admissions with Covid.

So direct Covid pressures are still on the rise but just maybe not as fast as headline figures suggest.

Another figure to watch is length of stay for Covid patients.

It has been falling throughout the pandemic.

If it falls again during this Omicron wave that too could relieve the overall pressure.