that sobering figure. more than 100,000 new cases. of those, more than 13,000 confirmed to be the omicron variant, and what the government is focusing on is how that will translate into hospitalization rates. we heard warnings from the uk s scientific advisers, that we could see a surge in hospitalizations if urgent action suspect taken. a stud y suggests omicron carris less chance of hospitalizations, 45% reduction in hospitalization risk. but they have warned this is early data. it really is from a small sample. and there is still a lot to know about the omicron variant. what is the situation across the continent of europe in terms