Professor Chris Whitty tonight urged Brits to limit festive socialising in the fight against rampant Omicron.
The medic begged revellers to only mix with those who “really matter” as we hit the highest ever daily number of Covid cases.
But Boris Johnson put his faith in people continuing to get boosters to save Christmas and said the NHS would “keep on giving Omicron both barrels”.
Health chiefs are warning of a double Covid pandemic with the Omicron and Delta variants ripping through Britain as the festive season gets into full swing.
Professor Chris Whitty begged revellers to limit Christmas socialising to those who “really matter”, after the UK recorded its highest ever daily number of cases.
The chief medical officer warned a big rise in hospitalisations was “a nailed-on prospect” as the spread of the two variants amounted to “two epidemics on top of each other”.
But while Prof Whitty struck a sombre mood, Boris Johnson appeared upbeat at the same press conference in Downing St when he vowed the NHS would “keep on giving Omicron both barrels” with the booster rollout, as troops helped with the huge drive. He also said second doses would be offered to 12 to 15-year-olds and there was hope as the “national fightback has begun”.
The mixed message continued as Prof Whitty urged people to “de-prioritise” some festive events and warned there was no reliable evidence Omicron was less mild.
But the PM, weakened by a major Tory rebellion on vaccine passports and revelations about parties at No10, resisted calls to stop Christmas parties and cut socialising, saying the Government’s light-touch Plan B for Covid was “the right thing to do”.
There were an unprecedented 78,610 new infections on Wednesday and a 10% rise in hospitalisations. In some regions of England the doubling rate was under two days.
Chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, warned Omicron was “probably the most significant threat” the country had faced during the pandemic and would be behind a huge rise in case rates in the days ahead. Prof Whitty strongly urged people to do a test before visiting the vulnerable.
He said: “I think that what most people are doing is, and this seems very sensible, is prioritising the social interactions that really matter to them and, to protect those ones, de-prioritising ones that matter much less to them. I think that’s going to become increasingly important as we go into the Christmas period.
“You don’t need a medical degree to realise that is a sensible thing to do with an incredibly infectious virus.”
Prof Whitty made the grim but “realistic” prediction that “records will be broken a lot over the next few weeks as the rates continue to go up”.
The World Health Organisation’s special envoy for Covid-19, Dr David Nabarro, warned Brits to “only do what is vital” this Christmas. He added: “I have never been more concerned than I am tonight. A lot of our friends and relatives are going to get ill. We’re concerned that people are dismissing Omicron as mild.
“Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases will once again overwhelm health systems.
“The rise that you’re seeing in the UK today is just the beginning of an extraordinary acceleration. There are two epidemics going on, Delta and Omicron. And it is an emergency situation for the British health service, it will get extremely serious within the next two weeks, perhaps quicker.”
Speaking to MPs who accused scientists of “scaremongering” and voted against tighter restrictions this week, he said: “I would only be making remarks about how serious this is if I had a very good reason to do so. I am concerned. This is serious. I don’t like comparing it to last year. For me, this is unprecedented.”
Mr Johnson defended his Plan B, which brought back masks in more public places and Covid passes for large events and at sports stadiums.
He said: “The wave on Omicron continues to roll in across the whole of the United Kingdom.
“We think that, given the balance of risks and the balance of continuing uncertainties about Omicron, this is the right approach to take, the right mixture of approaches, to do these two things at once.”
But he appeared to be contradicted by Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who refused to rule out tougher curbs.
He said: “No one wants to see any more restrictions.
“These restrictions, whenever they are made, they are really difficult things to do because they have a real impact on people’s lives, they can really disrupt their daily activities, what they were perhaps planning to do, and no one wants to see that.
“At the same time, people want to be safe for themselves, for their families, for their friends. We all know now what we can do.”
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s Professor Graham Medley warned it was a “very real possibility” the NHS would be overwhelmed next month if infections continue to rise and spill into older age groups.
He added: “I’m worried we could see numbers of people being admitted to hospital getting very large.”
Mr Johnson said his own Christmas plans with wife Carrie, son Wilfred and the couple’s new baby daughter would be “pretty modest” this year.
It comes after criticism of a string of parties in Downing St last Christmas as the rest of the country was in lockdown.
