LONDON (Reuters – The death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Britain surpassed 150,000, according government figures. It was caused by a record amount of Omicron variant cases.

On Saturday, there were 313 fatalities in the 28-day period following a COVID-19 positive test. This brings the death toll on this measure up to 150,057.

The death certificate with COVID-19, which measures deaths in early pandemics when testing is limited and more generalized but not as timely, had a total of 173,248 at the latest data. This was the most recent data available on December 24, 2018.

There has been a rise in Omicron coronavirus cases in Britain, but death rates seem to be lower than those of previous waves.

Britain’s government did not require a return of lockdown measures that were used earlier during the pandemic. Instead, they focused on distributing booster vaccinations.

The past seven days saw an increase of 11% in the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19, and a 38% rise in the weekly deaths.

Some signs suggest that the number of new cases could have peaked. Saturday’s report saw 146.390 cases, which is down from Jan. 4, when the record 218.724 cases was set.

Britain has the second highest cumulative death rate in Europe after Russia.

On a per-head scale, however, Italy, Belgium, and many countries of eastern Europe have lower cumulative deaths rates. Our World in Data has found that Britain’s mortality rate is 7 percent higher than the European Union median.