Hospital admissions could hit new high with Omicron: Chris Whitty

Daily hospital admissions in Britain could soon hit a new high because the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading so fast, piling pressure on a health service struggling with staff sickness, England's chief medical officer said on Thursday (December 16).

Britain recorded on Wednesday its highest number of daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic at 78,610.

Omicron is so transmissible that even if it proves to be milder than other variants, it could still cause a surge in hospital admissions, Chris Whitty told lawmakers.

The record for the number of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19 is 4,583 set in January.

"It is possible, because this is going to be very concentrated over a short period of time, even if it's milder, you could end up with a higher number than that going into hospital on a single day," he said.

However, he said vaccinations could cut the numbers admitted to intensive care and shorten the time spent in hospital.

Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, said there were 15 proven cases of Omicron in hospitals, but that the number was likely to be much higher.

Staffing issues

A senior emergency doctor said hospitals, particularly in London, were struggling to maintain staffing levels due to the number who are having to isolate with Covid-19.

"Even if we are not seeing a big rise in hospitalizations yet, we are already seeing the effect on not having the staff to run shifts properly and safely," Katherine Henderson, an emergency consultant in London and president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told BBC Radio.

"So we are worried about patient harm coming about because we just don't have the staff."

Britain is betting that vaccine boosters will prevent serious illness from Omicron.

The government has also advised people to work from home, mandated mask wearing in public places and has introduced Covid-19 passes to enter some venues and events in England, but has stopped short of previous lockdown measures.

"If it looked as if the vaccines were less effective than we were expecting, that for example would be a material change to how ministers viewed the risks going forward," Whitty said.