Britain faced warnings of an impending hospital crisis due to staff shortages caused by a wave of Omicron infections, as the country's daily Covid-19 caseload breached 200,000 for the first time.

The 24-hour tally, after chalking up multiple records in the run-up to New Year, hit 218,724 and another 48 deaths were reported in the latest government data.

Hospital admissions have not hit anything like the peaks of previous waves of the pandemic and the number of people requiring ventilation has remained flat so far.

But the state-run National Health Service (NHS) is struggling with staff forced to stay at home after testing positive, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised action to plug staffing gaps in the worst-hit areas, AFP reports.