More than 10,000 additional confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been reported across the UK bringing the total confirmed cases to 24,968, official figures show.
Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there were 10,059 UK Omicron cases and that the number of deaths of people with the new variant in England has now risen to seven from the previous figure of one.
The number of confirmed Omicron cases in England stood at 23,168, up 9,427 on the previous day’s total, official figures showed.
Cases in Northern Ireland rose to 827, an increase of 514.
Scotland’s cases have reached 792, an increase of 96, and in Wales there are 181, up 22 on the previous day.
Meanwhile, hospital admissions in England for people with confirmed or suspected Omicron rose to 85, from 65.
The new figures come as a leading government adviser said the most effective way to stop the spread of Omicron would be to have a circuit-breaker lockdown before Christmas.
Stephen Reicher, professor of social psychology at the University of St Andrews and member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said it was clear that Plan B measures alone would not be enough to stop the spiralling numbers of cases.
Reicher, who was speaking to Times Radio in a personal capacity, said the time to act was now.
He was responding to reports that officials are drawing up draft plans for a two-week circuit-breaker lockdown after Christmas.
Reicher said: “The only way really, or at least the most effective way, we can have an immediate effect is to decrease the number of contacts we have.
“In many ways, the most effective way of diminishing contact is to have a circuit-breaker.
“Now, you could have it after Christmas, the problem is after Christmas it’s probably too late, it’s probably by then we will have had a huge surge of infections with all the impact upon society.
“When people say ‘look, we don’t want to close down’: of course we don’t want to close down. But the problem is at the moment, things are closing down anyway, because of the spread of infection.
“So I think we need to act now.”
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