Rising infections are putting pressure on the British health system

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Monday that the country’s health system will remain under strain for weeks amid the current spike in COVID-19 infections, but indicated that authorities were not considering tightening measures for now to curb the spread of the virus.

The omicron variant caused daily new cases of coronavirus in Great Britain over Christmas and New Years, with 137,583 infections and 73 deaths reported in England and Wales on Sunday alone, figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland to be announced after the weekend the week.

“I think we have to realize that the pressure on our national health system and our hospitals is going to be huge over the next few weeks, maybe more,” Johnson said during a visit to the vaccination center in Aylesbury, 85 kilometers away. (53 miles) northwest of London.

Johnson made his comments after the Sunday Times reported that a group of hospitals in Lincolnshire county, in the east of the country, had declared a “serious incident” of “a severe and unprecedented” shortage of staff.

Johnson’s government lifted nearly all coronavirus restrictions in July, but backed off last month by implementing its own “Plan B” for England, imposing the mandatory use of masks in enclosed public spaces, a vaccination test, or a negative test result. Tested to enter nightclubs, residents were asked to work from home if possible.

On Monday, Johnson urged people to follow those rules and go to a vaccination center to get a booster dose, as the government tries to tackle a staff shortage in hospitals.

However, he seems to rule out any tightening of measures in the coming days.

“The mix of things we’re doing right now, I think, is the right thing,” he said.