LONDON, Dec 18 — Cases in the United Kingdom of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus jumped sharply in the latest daily figures provided by British health authorities today.

Confirmed Omicron-variant Covid-19 cases hit 24,968 as of 1800 GMT on December 17, up by just over 10,000 cases from 24 hours earlier, the UK Health Security Agency said. — Reuters