#16,485
Now that we are past the New Year's Holiday weekend we are beginning to see a normalization of data coming from official sources, like the UKHSA, without `data issues' being noted. Today, while the number of new cases did not set a new record, the UK is reporting a sharp increase (131.6%) in COVID-related deaths over the past 7 days.
The mantra that `Omicron is milder' was never meant to imply that it was benign, and so with nearly a 4-fold increase in cases over the past 30 days, it isn't a surprise to see that deaths - always a lagging indicator - are beginning to rise.
The first 2 graphs (left to right) below are current as of today, January 5th, while the 3rd (right) is only current through December 28th.