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Patchy monitoring means UK Omicron numbers unclear, say officials
Only 30-35% of PCR tests for general population are processed at labs that look for a key indicator of new variant
The Omicron variant of coronavirus is likely to be more widespread in the UK than official numbers suggest owing to patchy monitoring and a time lag in the data, scientists and officials have said.
Ministers said 336 cases had been identified by whole-genome sequencing, but experts said numbers were expected to be much higher given the variant’s potential for exponential growth and the fact it takes five to seven days for a case to be confirmed.
Read the original article at The Guardian