The UK government has asked government officials to review their emergency plans for a worst-case 25% staff absence in an effort to minimize disruption due to the rapid spread of the omicron strain of coronavirus, Reuters reported.

With daily infections hitting an all-time high and those who test positive for coronavirus must self-isolate for at least seven days, the government expects businesses and government services to face disruptions in the coming weeks, it said in a statement.

So far, the outages caused by the omicron strain are largely controlled, but public sector leaders have been asked to test plans against worst-case scenarios of 10%, 20% and 25% labor outages, the statement said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked ministers to work closely with relevant sectors to develop robust contingency plans, the cabinet office said.

The impact of the omicron strain on jobs in supply chains, government services and schools is being closely monitored, the report said. Mitigation measures being considered include asking volunteers, such as retired teachers, to return to work.

Efforts are underway to identify potential regulatory, policy or operational changes that could minimize or mitigate potential disruptions, the cabinet said in a statement.

The daily number of new COVID-19 cases across the UK rose to a record 189,846 on Friday, a record number.

However, the number of hospitalizations and deaths remained at a much lower level than during previous waves of coronavirus.