New strain pushes UK toll above 150,000

LONDON－Britain's official death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic crossed 150,000 on Saturday, driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant that is forcing many of the country's European neighbors to rethink their coronavirus strategies.

On Saturday, 313 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported in the United Kingdom, taking the total number of fatalities by this measure to 150,057. Spain and Germany are among the other European countries grappling with a surge in infections.

In the UK, a broader measure of deaths with COVID-19 on the death certificate－including those early in the pandemic when testing was limited－stood at 173,248 as of the last data on Dec 24.

"Our way out of this pandemic is for everyone to get their booster or their first or second dose," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Appeal for jabs

Johnson's appeal for Britons to get vaccinated comes just days after the global case count for COVID-19 topped 300 million, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

In Spain, the number of infections has topped the 7 million mark, according to figures published by the Ministry of Health.

The figures, published late on Friday, showed 7,164,906 people have been infected, with 242,440 cases added over the prior 48 hours.

In Germany, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the country must revamp its vaccination strategy to tackle Omicron and to ensure it can develop a new vaccine rapidly if it faces a more deadly variant in the future.

"If we get a variant that is as contagious as Omicron, but significantly more deadly, we should be able to develop and produce a new vaccine in a very short time," Lauterbach said.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional leaders tightened the rules for restaurant and bar visits on Friday as part of efforts to encourage more people to get a third vaccination, but shortened quarantine periods.

German lawmakers will soon discuss a draft bill for a general vaccination mandate.

Across the Atlantic, a report by The Harvard Gazette warned of a "difficult winter" in the US.

"I think it's going to be a difficult winter, and the maximal period seems like it's about to unfold over the next few weeks," Jake Lemieux, an infectious diseases specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, was quoted as saying.

Agencies - Xinhua