Omicron cases in the South West are doubling every two days, and over 2,000 cases have now been confirmed in the region.

This interactive map shows confirmed Omicron cases in regions across the UK as of the latest data from the UK Heath Security Agency, and in all regions cases are doubling between every 1-2 days. 

Omicron is a highly mutated strain of Covid that is more transmissive than previous recorded variants such as Delta.

As of UKHSA's latest report, published December 19, confirmed Omicron cases across England rose by 12,133 between Friday-Saturday. 

How many cases of Omicron are there in my region of the UK? 

A report by the UK Health Security Agency published yesterday, December 19, shows that 930 new cases of Omicron were confirmed in the South West on Saturday bringing the latest regional total of confirmed Omicron cases to 2574. 

The number of 'probable' Omicron cases was much higher at 2312, with 607 'probable' Omicron cases recorded on December 18. 

Following the trend, UKHSA has concluded that cases in the South West are doubling every 2.1 days on average. 

The South West has the slowest doubling rate out of the UK regions so far, and is the only region where the doubling rate is at 2 days or more, which the UKHSA have said may be related to poor PCR gene target reporting coverage in this region.

The region with the fastest doubling rate is the North East at 1.3 days on average, and the region with the second slowest doubling rate (as the South West has the slowest rate) is the East Midlands at 1.95 days. 

On Friday, December 10, we learnt that there had been two confirmed cases of Omicron in Wiltshire with seven 'probable' cases suspected. 

London recorded the highest number of confirmed Omicron cases in the UK at 10092, and Wales confirmed the lowest number of cases at 272. 

 

What is the Omicron picture across the UK in terms of cases? 

The report by the UKHSA  shows that a further 11,304 Omicron cases were reported in England in data correct as of 6pm, December 18, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 34,473. 

In the UK the total number of confirmed Omicron cases as per latest data is 37,101. 

The total 'probable' Omicron cases identified in the UK was reported as a further 99,447 in yesterday's report.

Probable Omicron cases are identified using an S-gene target failure test. 

What is Omicron? 

Omicron, scientifically known as B.1.1.529 variant, is a highly mutated strain of Covid.

It has 32 mutations in the spike protein, the part of the virus that vaccines use to protect the immune system from Covid. 

Omicron was first spotted in Botswana, South Africa, and there are now hundreds of cases already in the UK with Sage scientists warning that restrictions need to tighten or it could cause tens of thousands of Covid deaths in England in the next five months. 

Although the government has only recently introduced Plan B restrictions, the Daily Mail reported officials are considering Plan C restrictions in the new year. 

What is a 'probable' Omnicron case and what does S-gene target failure mean? 

A characteristic of the Omicron variant is an 'S-gene drop-out' which can be detected in a PCR test at many UK laboratories as soon as the positive case is confirmed. 

This is described as an S-gene target failure test, and results are recorded as a separate figure in the official statistics on Omicron cases.

S-gene failure is a much quicker indicator of whether someone is infected with the Omicron variant, as confirming Omicron cases requires further sequencing. 

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