据BBC报道，当地时间18日，英国伦敦市长萨迪克•汗宣布，由于奥密克戎病例激增，伦敦进入“重大事故”状态。
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报道称，由于奥密克戎变种毒株导致的疫情迅速蔓延，伦敦市长萨迪克•汗宣布进入“重大事故”状态。他说奥密克戎现在是伦敦地区“主要毒株”，并且导致伦敦紧急响应部门人手不足。此外，伦敦是英国当前病例数最多的地区。萨迪克•汗表示，在过去24小时，伦敦新增病例超过2.6万，为疫情以来最多单日病例。随着入院人数的增加，工作人员的缺口问题也日益严峻。
The Mayor of London has declared a "major incident" due to the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the capital. Sadiq Khan said Omicron is now the "dominant variant" in London and was having an impact on staff absences in the emergency services across the city. He said London was the UK region with the largest number of Covid cases. Khan said in the last 24 hours, London had seen the largest number of new cases since the coronavirus pandemic began — more than 26,000. He added: "Hospital admissions are going up, but also staff absences are going up by a massive level.
据BBC报道，2017年6月的Grenfell Tower大火，以及威斯敏斯特桥和伦敦桥恐袭发生后，伦敦都宣布过“重大事故”。而“重大事故”指的是需要由一个或所有应急服务部门、英国医疗服务系统或地方当局实施特殊处理的紧急情况。
Major incidents have previously been called in response to the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 and the terror attacks at Westminster Bridge and London Bridge. A major incident is any emergency which requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or all of the emergency services, the NHS or the local authority.
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12月19日，人们行走在英国伦敦威斯敏斯特桥上。新华社记者 李颖 摄
萨迪克•汗表示，宣布“重大事故”也说明了事件的严重性。
"This is a statement of how serious things are," he said.
今年1月8日，由于疫情的蔓延和对医疗系统的冲击，伦敦也进入了“重大事故”状态，并持续到2月26日病例数据下降。
Khan also declared a major incident on 8 January due to the rapid spread of Covid-19 and its impact on the health service. It was in place until 26 February as case numbers in the capital fell.
另有政府的紧急事件科学顾问团队（SAGE）表示，“几乎可以确定”英国每天有成千上万人感染奥密克戎，却没有被数据统计涵盖其中。
The government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said it was "almost certain" that hundreds of thousands of people were being infected with the variant every day and were not being picked up in the figures.
约翰逊：启动紧急加强针任务
英国首相鲍里斯•约翰逊17日表示，奥密克戎毒株已成为英国“非常严重的威胁”，该国正面临“非常严重的（奥密克戎毒株感染）病例潮”。
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12月16日，在英国拉姆斯盖特，英国首相鲍里斯•约翰逊（右二）在当地新冠疫苗接种中心与工作人员交谈。新华社发（英国首相府供图）
约翰逊还坚称，英格兰不会封锁，也不会让民众取消活动，但是大家要“保持警惕”。
Boris Johnson has insisted England is not being put into lockdown by stealth. The prime minister said he was not telling the public to cancel events, but urging them to exercise "caution".
据新华社报道，英国卫生与社会保健部12日发布公告说，英国新冠疫情警报级别由3级升至4级，以应对奥密克戎毒株在该国快速传播。英国首相约翰逊12日宣布，启动“奥密克戎紧急加强针国家任务”，在新年前为英格兰所有18岁及以上人员提供加强针接种服务。截至15日，英国12岁以上人员中超过81%已接种两剂新冠疫苗，超过43%已接种加强针。
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12月19日，在英国伦敦议会大厦附近的一处疫苗接种中心，当地居民排队等待接种疫苗。新华社记者 李颖 摄
英格兰首席医疗官克里斯•惠蒂日前也警告，英国正面临“相互叠加的”打击，即德尔塔毒株感染病例保持高位的同时，奥密克戎毒株感染病例迅速增长，未来几周可能会出现大量的入院病例。
Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, suggested there were "two epidemics on top of one another" following the spread of the Omicron variant. He said the spread of the existing Delta variant was "roughly flat" but there was a "very rapidly growing Omicron epidemic on top of it". And he also warned that these would translate into "big numbers" being treated in hospital in the coming weeks.
本月8日，英国政府启动包括在部分场所强制戴口罩等措施在内的《应对新冠疫情：秋冬计划》B计划，以应对奥密克戎毒株快速蔓延。12日，英国新冠疫情警报级别由3级升至4级。不少英国专家认为，政府本应更早采取更严格的防控措施。
综合来源：新华网，BBC，Sky News，Reuters
