Covid-19: Many more infected with variant than reported, UK scientists say

Number of patients admitted to hospital are probably around one tenth of the true number

By Reuters

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Reuters
Reuters

Published: Sat 18 Dec 2021, 11:01 PM

Scientific advisors to the British government said it was “almost certain” that hundreds of thousands of people were being infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant every day and hospital admissions were likely to surge.

“Currently observed numbers of Omicron infections admitted to hospital in the UK are probably around one tenth of the true number because the data lags of hospital reporting,” the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies said in minutes of a meeting on Dec. 16.


Data published on Saturday showed confirmed Omicron cases hit 24,968 as of 1800 GMT on Dec. 17, up by just over 10,000 cases from 24 hours earlier.


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