absences rising from 1900 to a700 in less than a week. in many places, they are already under immense pressure and so they are starting to go off sick themselves, both with covid but also with physical and mental exhaustion so it is looking like a very bleak picture for them over the next few weeks. at the start of this year, hospitals were overwhelmed as the number of covid patients surged, now vaccines and booster seem to be keeping the number of deaths stable at least for the moment. but modelling suggests even a best case scenario for this wave could see death rising to around 600 per day. you ll make there s very little headroom for the number of cases to go headroom for the number of cases to 9° up headroom for the number of cases to to u ., , headroom for the number of cases to go up and the number of severe cases to no u- go up and the number of severe cases to go up too. go up and the number of severe cases to go up too. even go up and the number of severe cases to go up
but am having compulsion. plan b does not stop people but am having compulsion. plan b does not stop people from - but am having compulsion. plan b does not stop people from eating | does not stop people from eating friends and family. it s more about watching from home if people are able to but i think this is a season where genuinely people do want to meet their loved ones, it s a special time of year but it s also unfortunately at a time when we are in a very dangerous situation with regards to covid i9 so it s really at time where each of us would have to consider carefully who we are meeting on how to weigh all of these different factors. different factors. given the rise he had seen in different factors. given the rise he had seen in omicron, different factors. given the rise he had seen in omicron, and - different factors. given the rise he had seen in omicron, and given i different factors. given the rise he i had seen in omicron, and given that the data is still a littl
whole hog here in the uk. what s making whole hog here in the uk. what s making people nervous as they are looking making people nervous as they are looking at making people nervous as they are looking at the cases, the trajectory - and looking at the cases, the trajectory - and if looking at the cases, the trajectory - and if you looking at the cases, the trajectory and if you look at the number of daily and if you look at the number of daily cases and if you look at the number of daily cases we got at the moment, 90.000. daily cases we got at the moment, 90,000, that s the numberwe daily cases we got at the moment, 90,000, that s the number we know about 90,000, that s the number we know about you 90,000, that s the number we know about. you could probably double that because we know half the time people that because we know half the time people are that because we know half the time people are asymptomatic and will get tested, people are asymptomatic a
thank you forjoining with us. the prime minister made it clear that he reserved the right to take whatever measures are necessary to protect the public. are those measures in place now? is plan b enough in your opinion to handle the rise of omicron? opinion to handle the rise of omicron? . , . . ., , ., omicron? that s a change in question because there omicron? that s a change in question because there prime omicron? that s a change in question because there prime minister - omicron? that s a change in question because there prime minister has - because there prime minister has also taken into account many other issues besides the number of omicron cases including the impact on the economy. but we do see from the perspective of omicron itself, we do see that cases are increasing very rapidly. both in terms of absolute numbers of cases of covid i9 in the uk as well as the proportion of all cases which are dear to omicron. this is clearly a variance which is pretty much more rapid