London, Europe Brief News – The impact the coronavirus will have over the coming years is highly uncertain.
However, further waves of infections “should be expected”, scientific advisers have told ministers.
The assessment came as the Office for National Statistics confirmed that its latest infection survey, seen as the best measure of the state of the epidemic, had found that cases remain high.
The ONS estimates that more than 2.6 million people in England had Covid-19 in the wpast week. In Wales it was 139,000, also equivalent to 1 in 20.
In Northern Ireland it was 136,300 people, and in Scotland it was 185,100 people, or about 1 in 30.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies
WHO: Half of Europe to Catch Omicron
The World Health Organization (WHO) has earlier said half of Europe will catch Omicron.
WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said a “west-to-east tidal wave” of Omicron was sweeping across the region. The Delta variant is on top of a surge, he added.
The projection was based on the seven million new cases reported across Europe in the first week of 2022.
The number of infections has more than doubled in a two-week period.
“Today the Omicron variant represents a new west-to-east tidal wave. It sweeps across the region on top of the Delta surge that all countries were managing until late 2021,” Dr Kluge told a news conference.
He quoted the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation as forecasting that “more than 50 percent of the population in the region will be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight weeks”.
The WHO has earlier warned of ‘tsunami’ of COVID cases in the near future. The declaration was due to Omicron spread.
The WHO further warned of the risk posed by the Omicron variant after COVID-19 case numbers shot up by 11 percent globally last week.
