Omicron has had the entire country in its highly infectious grip. An astonishing one in 15 people had the virus in the week before New Year, the Office for National Statistics confirmed on Wednesday. In London, where the outbreak is thought to be two weeks ahead of the rest of the country, it was one in ten.
Despite the spiralling numbers, vaccination means the virus is having a milder impact, in terms of causing ill health, than previous variants.
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