The modelling used to justify Sajid Javid’s claim that there were 200,000 Omicron infections a day has been abandoned by health officials.
The UK Health Security Agency had assumed infections were doubling every 1.9 days but it now says this has become ‘less valid’ due to ‘behaviour change’.
It will therefore no longer employ this method of estimating infection, the company stated in an unpublished document on Thursday.
A spokesman said the figure had given a ‘useful snapshot’ to ‘emphasise the scale’ at which Omicron was spreading.
The modelling used to justify Sajid Javid’s claim that there were 200,000 Omicron infections a day has been abandoned by health officials
However, increased mask wear and the possibility of working at home have reduced spread and affected the forecast.
The figures show that Omicron South Africa has seen a decrease in deaths or hospitalisations than previous Covid waves.
Prior infections and vaccines have significantly reduced the number of fatalities by up to two-thirds compared to previous waves.
South African scientists concluded that nine out of ten Covid victims who had died from complications in the hospital between mid-November and now were not fully vacinated.
Official data shows that covid hospital admissions in Britain’s Omicron hotspot London have increased by over a third within a week.
Joe Phaahla, the country’s health minister, said the new variant was causing ‘mild illness’.
The Delta variant was responsible for a staggering 4,500 and 900 hospitalisations per day in the second week. He said that although daily cases rose to around 20,000 during the current wave of the third wave, admissions to hospitals were only 350.
The UK’s NHS refuses to provide any information about the British victim of Omicron. It is not known if the deceased person was older than 50, vaccinated against it or if they have any other health issues.