Boris Johnson this week confirmed the country’s move to Plan B to curb Covid-19 infections as the Omicron variant continues to spread across England.
The prime minister said at a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday that it is “increasingly clear that Omicron is growing much faster than the previous Delta variant.”
He explained that the new measures are designed to curb infections so that the NHS does not fall under “unsustainable pressure” in coming months.
England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty confirmed that the new variant, which was first identified in South Africa, is spreading quickly on top of a high rate of Delta variant transmissions and growing hospitalisations.
There are the seven graphs that explain why the swift spread of Omicron poses a serious risk:
Read More: 7 graphs that explain why Omicron is such a threat to the UK
