Deputy PM Dominic Raab has sowed confusion by wrongly stating there are 250 people in hospital with Omicron - when the true figure is 10.
In a disastrous series of interviews, the top Tory first claimed the number of people hospitalised was 250 before revising it down to 9 in a later media appearance.
The true figure is 10, two sources confirmed to the Mirror.
"Last I saw it was in the low hundreds, 250 the last time I looked, but of course the data is being updated all the time," Mr Raab told Sky News.
"The problem is the rate at which it is transmitting and if that continues, we will see those numbers increase very dramatically."
He is understood to have misheard the question.
But Mr Raab later sowed further confusion by telling the BBC that the figure was in fact 9 people.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) believes the Omicron variant is causing around 200,000 new infections per day.
The staggering figure raises questions about whether there will be a need for fresh restrictions, with Boris Johnson refusing three times to rule out doing so before Christmas.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon could announce extra restrictions later today.
Mr Raab insisted there were no plans to bring in further restrictions on top of Plan B measures being voted on by MPs later today.
"We've got none planned," he said when asked about new Covid curbs.
The booster programme alongside Plan B is "where all our focus is", he added.
Asked if we were going to pay for having a good Christmas, he said: "I think people are going to this Christmas enjoy it.
"We have an opportunity to spend Christmas with loved ones in a way we didn't last year?
"At the same time I think it's right to encourage people to get the booster vaccine."
Some 41% of people have now had their booster jabs, he said.
