Get ready for a January lockdown? Covid infections hit highest level in a YEAR with Omicron already behind 200,000 cases a DAY as Chris Whitty warns Cabinet pubs and restaurants may be forced to shut even without restrictions because of staff illness By Connor Boyd Deputy Health Editor For Mailonline Published: 16:43 GMT, 14 December 2021 | Updated: 16:44 GMT, 14 December 2021 Viewcomments Advertisement Pubs, restaurants and shops could be forced to shut next month if Omicron continues to tear through Britain because so many workers will be off isolating, ministers were told today. The chief medical officer Chris Whitty gave a stark update on the coronavirus situation to Cabinet today, in which he warned that a tidal wave of infections would lead to a 'significant increase in hospitalisations'. Boris Johnson's spokesperson said it was 'valid' to assume the UK could face a million daily cases of the Omicron variant by January, the equivalent of one in every 66 Britons catching the disease each day. Professor Whitty is claimed to have warned that astronomical infection numbers like that will inevitably spark staff shortages, including in the NHS. There are now fears of a repeat of the 'Pingdemic' that shut down swathes of the economy over summer, only on a much wider scale because of how infectious the new strain is. The UK Health Security Agency already estimates there are 200,000 infections from Omicron every day — more than there ever were with Delta — and that it is doubling every two days. Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, said vaccine passports, working from home and other curbs to tackle Omicron will be needed for 'the next four to eight weeks'. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility