The 150,000 Covid deaths since the beginning of the pandemic have been reached. On the other hand, daily contaminations are slightly decreasing, and hospitalizations are down for the first time since Christmas.
 The 313 new deaths from Covid recorded on Saturday have pushed the death toll to more than 150,000, making it one of the most bereaved countries in Europe (behind Russia, which has 315,000).

The glimmer of hope is that the number of daily contaminations seems to be decreasing for several days, after a peak above 200,000 on January 4. Lull or light or end of the tunnel, the total number of hospitalizations is slightly down this Saturday, for the first time since Christmas.
 "Covid 19 and its variants are taking a terrible toll on our country," tweeted Prime Minister Boris Johnson, "and today the recorded death toll has reached 150,000." It was a time of mourning yesterday in the UK, with a very heavy toll recorded since the outbreak and the first official death on March 7, 2020.

The health crisis itself seems to be subsiding since January 5, although the number of positive cases is still very high, with 146,390 cases recorded in the last 24 hours. The number of positive cases is still very high, with 146,390 cases reported in the last 24 hours, but it seems to be slowly coming down from a peak of more than 218,000 infections, recorded on January 4.
 A more flattering result, for England and not the whole of the United Kingdom. With a very slight drop in the number of hospitalizations of Covid patients, 129 less yesterday, there is hope for a way out of the crisis.

Certainly, the 20,000 people hospitalized with Covid in the UK are putting a lot of pressure on the UK health system, but less than in previous waves. However, the Omicron wave is generating a phenomenon that was less common in previous outbreaks: absences of infected hospital staff are increasing, and are crippling the system.
 The daily balance of British figures is closely scrutinized in France, where the epidemic is said to be about a week behind. The impression that the number of contaminations and hospitalizations is decreasing is to be confirmed in the coming days, but it is difficult to avoid seeing, on the other side of the Channel as here, a (distant) light at the end of the tunnel.