The United Kingdom broke its own record of new daily COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with the tally reaching nearly 78,610 in 24 hours. The news comes as the Omicron variant of the deadly virus continues to push infection rates in the European country.

The previous all-time high recorded in the United Kingdom was 68,053 cases in one day, which was reported on January 8 this year. A dramatic increase was seen in the figures as the country reported 59,610 new COVID cases a day before.

Also Read: UK urges work from home, plans stricter curbs as Omicron threat looms

According to reports from CNBC citing data released by the British government, the country reported 165 deaths linked to COVID-19 complications on Wednesday, a number considered to be low in comparison to the previous wave of infections.

Meanwhile, health care experts in the country have taken the Omicron variant’s severity with a pinch of salt. CNBC reported that experts warned about rising infections of COVID-19 could directly link to increased hospitalisations.

Dr Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency, said in a statement, “The difficulty is that the growth of this virus, it has a doubling time which is shortening – ie it is doubling faster, growing faster”, according to reports from Guardian.

Also Read: Omicron: COVID cases in UK rise by 50% in one day

Omicron is expected to be the dominant coronavirus variant in the European Union’s 27 nations by mid-January, the bloc’s top official said Wednesday amid concerns that a dramatic rise in infections will leave Europe shrouded in gloom during the holiday season.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union is well prepared to fight omicron with 66.6% of its population fully vaccinated. She expressed disappointment that the pandemic will again disrupt year-end celebrations but said she was confident the alliance has the “strength” and “means” to overcome COVID-19.