The UK reported 86 cases of omicron variant
of coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total number of cases to 246, health
authorities confirmed. The UK reported 160 cases on Saturday, an increase of
more than 50 per cent, reported BBC.

The UK registered 43,992 new COVID-19
infections, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to
10,464,389, according to official figures released on Sunday.

Also Read: Omicron more transmissible than other variants: Singapore health ministry

The country also reported 54
coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in
the UK now stands at 145,605. These figures only include the deaths of people
who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

The latest data came as the UK Health
Secretary Sajid Javid said all international arrivals to the UK, including
children over the age of 12, will need to take a pre-departure test from 0400
GMT on Tuesday. He added that they must be taken a maximum of 48 hours before
departure.

Also Read: Omicron brings back curbs, Belgian cops clash with protestors

In addition, from 0400 GMT on Monday,
December 6, Nigeria will be on the UK’s travel red list. Nigeria is among the
several southern African nations which were put on the red list after the
omicron variant was first detected late last month.

“I think it’s too late to make a
material difference to the course of the Omicron wave if we’re going to have
one,” professor Mark Woolhouse, a member of the Scientific Pandemic
Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), told the BBC when asked about the new
travel rules.

Also Read: Rajasthan reports 9 Omicron cases, India tally reaches 21

More than 88 per cent of people aged 12 and
over in the UK have had their first dose of vaccine and nearly 81 per cent have
received both doses, according to the latest figures. More than 35 per cent
have received booster jabs or the third dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

To bring life back to normal, countries
such as the UK, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing
against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.