The Omicron variant of coronavirus is now the dominant strain in the country, with the UK Health Security Agency estimating it accounts for more than 90% of covid cases.
With people mixing indoors more so than usually over the Christmas period, a staggering number of infections are being reported.
Another 39,923 cases of Omicron were detected across the UK on Wednesday, after a record number of infections were reported on Christmas Day.
READ MORE: New 'key' Omicron symptom experts are warning about
While more data about Omicron is needed, early studies suggest the strain spreads more easily than previous variants, though does appear to present milder symptoms in many.
However this doesn't mean we are out of the woods, and as the virus continues to spread rapidly it has never been more important to get tested.
Rapid tests, also known as lateral flows, can offer a result in as little as fifteen minutes, though this time window can vary so it's important to always read the instructions that come with your testing kit.
How long can you expect it to take from being exposed to Omicron to testing positive for it?
Every viral disease has an incubation period - the time from when you were exposed to a pathogen to when it can be detected.
While the World Health Organisation estimated symptoms took anywhere between two days to two weeks to materialise in cases of people infected with the first coronavirus strain, the Omicron variant is thought to incubate much faster, closer to three to five days.
However, the WHO also said a positive result could still take up to fourteen days for some.
On December 6, Sajid Javid told MPs: “Recent analysis from the UK Health Security Agency suggests that the window between infection and infectiousness may be shorter for the Omicron variant than the Delta variant."
Analysis of an Omicron outbreak at a Christmas party in Norway last month looked at over 100 attendees, the majority of whom ended up being infected with the virus.
The analysis, published in the journal Eurosurveillance, found that, assuming the attendees were infected at the party, the average incubation period was three days.
The report described this as "short compared with previous reports for Delta and other previously circulating non-Delta SARS-CoV-2," which it defined as 4.3 and five days respectively.
It's important to note scientists are still learning about the Omicron variant and a lot of its characteristics are still unclear.
The Government has said anyone aged five years and over, who has been identified as a contact of someone with Covid-19 and who is not legally required to self-isolate, should take a lateral flow test every day for seven days - or until 10 days since their last contact if this is earlier.
Those who have tested positive should self-isolate for 10 days, however this can be shortened if a negative test result is received on days six and seven.
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