Britain yesterday put the biggest private health companies on high alert to deliver crucial treatments should Omicron overwhelm National Health Service hospitals in England.

The United Kingdom's death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic stands at 150,154, the world's seventh worst official Covid toll after the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico and Peru.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has bet on refraining from lockdowns to deal with the Omicron variant which in recent weeks has swept across the United Kingdom, albeit with death rates significantly lower than previous waves.

In a sign of just how stretched the National Health Service could become, Health Secretary Sajid Javid ordered England's NHS to strike a 3-month deal with private health companies to allow patients to get treatments such as cancer surgery outside.

"Millions of patients have already got their tests and treatment quicker thanks to our existing deal with independent providers," said David Sloman, NHS England chief operating officer and Covid incident director.

"It also places independent health providers on standby to provide further help should hospitals face unsustainable levels of hospitalisations or staff absences," Sloman said.

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,486,519 people globally since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources yesterday.

India began a Covid-19 booster shot campaign for frontline workers and vulnerable people aged 60 and above yesterday as authorities grapple with a rapidly escalating outbreak driven by the Omicron variant.

Nearly 180,000 new infections were recorded overnight, up nearly six times from a week earlier, with several urban centres imposing night-time curfews and restrictions on public gatherings.

India is witnessing a hospitalisation rate of 5-10 percent in the third Covid wave, the government said yesterday, adding that the situation is "dynamic and evolving and the need of hospital care may change rapidly".

In the second wave, the official data said, the hospitalisation rate was in the range of 20-23 percent, reports NDTV.

China reported more cases of Omicron variant yesterday, with authorities on high alert over flare-ups in major cities just weeks ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

In Italy, unvaccinated people were barred from restaurants or taking domestic flights under new rules which exempt only those who have recently recovered from the virus.

Pope Francis yesterday urged the international community to step up Covid vaccination and said "reality therapy" was needed to battle "baseless information" putting people off getting jabbed.

The Argentine pontiff, who has previously described getting vaccinated as "an act of love", urged governments to ensure everyone around the world had access to vaccines.