Britain: For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the United Kingdom reached 100,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, as the British government announced an easing of isolation regulations. As the highly transmissible omicron variant continues to spread across the country, the latest toll of 106,122 new infections (the most ever) has emerged. According to government figures, the increase is a 50% increase in the last week.

In England, where most pandemic restrictions have been relaxed since the summer, a surge in coronavirus cases has whittled down the staffs of hospitals, clinics, rail systems, fire departments, and ambulance services.

Before the new case numbers were released on Wednesday, England announced that it was reducing the number of days that people must isolate for after showing Covid-19 symptoms from ten to seven, citing updated guidance from health experts as the reason for the change, which officials said could help alleviate staffing shortages.

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, has resisted imposing more limits before Christmas but has stated that if necessary, he "would not hesitate to act" after the holiday. If those in England can show negative tests on days six and seven, their quarantines will be lifted. This results in a more permissive regulation than in the United States, where people can finish their isolation periods after 10 days if they haven't had a fever for 24 hours and their other Covid-19 symptoms are improving.

Malaysia suspends vaccinated travel lane with Singapore citing Omicron

Oxford, AstraZeneca developing Omicron-targeted variant of vaccine

Australia pushes to ramp up booster shot rollouts as Omicron spike