UK Scientists Warn of Daily COVID Surge to Two Million Unless New Curbs Introduced Before New Year

Earlier, reports suggested that UK cabinet ministers were drawing up proposals for a post-Christmas two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. As of 17 December, the number of confirmed cases of the Omicron strain stood at 24,968, Britain’s Health Security Agency announced on Saturday.