If a UK-like situation arises in India, the country could see as many as 14 lakh cases of Omicron variant per day, warned the Central government on Friday.

The government also highlighted the fact that the United Kingdom and France are witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases – both Delta and Omicron – despite cent per cent vaccination in the adult population.

During a press briefing, Niti Aayog member-health, Dr VK Paul said, “You are aware from the information in the public domain that situation in parts of Africa but also in parts of Europe has gone worse.”

He went on to say stressing that pandemic spreads rapidly, particularly with variants like Omicron. “We have to make an effort so that such a situation do not emerge here. Conversely, we have to be prepared to effectively face even such a situation,” he said.

Dr Paul highlighted the example of the UK which reported over 80,000 cases on Thursday despite high vaccination rate and exposure to Delta.

“If there is a similar outbreak in India, given our population, there will be 14 lakh cases every day. Similarly, France — where there is 80% partial vaccination — is reporting 65,000 cases. If an outbreak of a similar scale takes place in India, it will mean 13 lakh cases every day,” he added.

UK breaks daily Covid cases record for third day in a row

Britain reported 93,045 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, breaking the daily record for the third consecutive day and bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 11,190,354, according to official figures released Friday.

Another 3,201 Omicron cases have been found in Britain, the biggest daily increase since the COVID-19 variant was detected in the country, taking the total Omicron cases found in the country to 14,909, said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The country also reported a further 111 coronavirus-related deaths, taking the national death toll to 147,048.