Government scientists warn that variants of Omicroncovid can spread through “infected breath bubbles”

Government scientists warn that people only need to be exposed to the “smell of infected breath” to catch a variant of Omicron. England is preparing an unlimited New Year’s Eve.

Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (Nervtag), said that Covid-19 was “not so infectious when it first transitioned from person to person.” He said he was “lucky”.

“Omicron is very infectious,” said the BBC Breakfast.

“The virus has been repeated several times through various stages of evolution. It is so infectious that it requires only a small amount of infected breath and can be transmitted.”

He said this was especially dangerous in countries with low vaccination rates.

“We are in a relatively good position in a country like the United Kingdom, but in many parts of the world the vaccination rate is only about 5% and we are exposed to this highly infectious virus. You have to remember. There is little protection. “

It will come later Government has given a green light to the New Year’s Eve party in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales impose some restrictions.

Britain New record of yesterday’s daily coronavirus cases, Recorded 189,213 new positive tests in the last 24 hours.

Professor Openshaw also warned that the medical system could be overwhelmed by the proliferation of cases of Omicron, where the capacity of the system could be compromised “very quickly.”

He said he was “extremely worried” about how the NHS staff would deal with the surge in Omicron cases.

Covid absent from NHS From 18,829 staff on December 19th to 24,632 on Boxing Day, it surged 30% in a week.

“I don’t think the government’s threshold has been completely reached in terms of overwhelming the NHS, but it seems to reach it very quickly,” he told the BBC Breakfast.

“I’m very worried about the NHS staff and my dear colleagues who have worked hard in this recurring wave of infections. How are they going to deal with it?

“We really need to pay attention to them, provide all the support and do everything we can to make the NHS a great place to work. Of course that’s the main thing, but the NHS staff are really very worried. I am. “

Professor Christina Pagel said Omicron appeared to reduce the number of people in need of intensive care treatment, but the surge in cases would still threaten the NHS’s ability.

“Although it seems that there are few hospitalizations that require intensive care (good), the need for a hospital is not a good thing, and it significantly limits the NHS’s ability to treat other conditions.

“The NHS crisis based on the ward rather than the ICU is still the NHS crisis.”

Professor Pagel also warned that the situation could worsen, predicting an increase in both cases and hospitalizations after an increase in household mix on Christmas.

“The levels reported in the UK have more than doubled from their previous peak in January last year and more than tripled from the beginning of December,” she said in a social media post.

“The latest numbers reflect the pre-Christmas infection. These numbers are underestimated.”

She also warned that ongoing undertesting would exacerbate the problem, as people were unable to test themselves before socializing on New Year’s Eve.

Home PCR and lateral flow kits were also unavailable this morningDay 5 of the intermittent shortage.

“As I (and many others) warned a few weeks ago, we are currently limited in the number of tests we can perform, which means that the number of cases is becoming increasingly poor as an indicator of spread. “Masu,” she added. “Aggression is something we need to be aware of. Lack of testing also increases communication, especially towards the New Year.”

The NHS is preparing for a surge, but new curbs are “not needed yet”

On the other hand, the person in charge of the NHS provider New restrictions To reduce hospitalization, but he said he didn’t think he needed a curb yet.

Chris Hopson said trust leaders didn’t feel the need for restrictions yet, but said they “may need them at a pace” in the future, “new restrictions will affect the level of hospitalization.” Will take about two weeks. “

“We know that it is the government that sets the rules for restrictions, not the NHS, and that the government has set high thresholds for the introduction of new restrictions,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme. rice field.

“Therefore, based on that, trust leaders understand why the government claims that the threshold has not yet been exceeded, even though the number of elderly patients with serious illness has not surged to hospitals. I can do it.”

“But we still don’t know if there will be a surge. In fact, we are now exactly discussing what we are preparing for that surge.

“Therefore, when it comes to limits, I think we’re in exactly the same place as in the last two weeks, which means that the government needs to be ready to introduce stricter limits at real speed, if needed. I have.”