© KEYSTONE/AP/Peter Cziborra
The coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people in the UK, the government said on Saturday. This is a symbolic milestone for the country among the most bereaved in Europe.
“The coronavirus is taking a terrible toll on our country and today the recorded death toll has reached 150,000,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted.
More specifically, 313 new deaths due to Covid-19 were recorded on Saturday, bringing to 150,057 since the start of the pandemic the total number of people who died 28 days after a positive test. Only Russia has a higher death toll of nearly 315,000.
With a few words on a black background, in another tweet, Boris Johnson sent a message of condolence, stressing how “each and everyone” who died “remains a profound loss for the families, friends and communities affected”.
The country still records a lot of contaminations linked to the Omicron variant, even if after a daily record last week, the figures have stalled for several days, with 146,390 recorded on Saturday in 24 hours.
Even if the number of people in the hospital is for the moment lower (18,454 people on Saturday) than in previous waves, the pressure on the health system remains very strong. According to the health service for England, NHS England, more than 39,000 absences of hospital staff, in isolation because infected with the coronavirus or contact case, were recorded on January 2, or 59% more in a week and triple compared to early December.
No new restrictions
This includes more than 4,700 absences in London, which has been the epicenter of the new wave of contaminations.
On Friday, the British government announced that several hundred soldiers would be deployed to reinforce British hospitals and ambulance services to alleviate this growing absenteeism. Around 1,800 soldiers are already deployed across the United Kingdom, notably in support of the vaccination effort and ambulance services.
For the moment, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to impose new restrictions to limit the spread of the virus – in addition to teleworking and wearing the mask already in place – focusing on screening and the vaccination campaign.
This has already made it possible to administer two doses to 82% of those over 12 years old, and the booster campaign, carried out vigorously, has benefited 35 million people (approximately 60% of those over 12). “To get out of this pandemic, everyone must have a booster or their first or second dose if this is not yet the case,” pleaded Mr. Johnson.