UK reports record daily COVID cases with Omicron spreading rapidly

People wait in a queue to get a dose of the COVID-19 booster vaccine, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at Smallthorne Community Centre in Stoke-on-Trent, Britain, December 15, 2021. REUTERS/Carl Recine

LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom recorded its most daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic on Wednesday as a senior British health chief said there could be a "staggering" rise over the next few days.

A further 78,610 COVID-19 infections were reported, about 10,000 more than the previous high reported in January.