Boris Johnson has issued an urgent warning for anyone planning to celebrate New Year.
During a visit to a vaccination centre in Milton Keynes on Wednesday, Mr Johnson urged people to get tested before New Year's Eve festivities.
He told reporters: "Everybody should enjoy New Year but in a cautious and sensible way - take a test, ventilation, think about others but, above all, get a booster."
READ MORE: Lateral Flow Test shortage and where you can still get tested in Liverpool
It comes as a further 183,037 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases were recorded in the UK as of 9am on Wednesday, the Government said, another new record for daily reported cases. The total includes reported figures for Northern Ireland covering a five-day period.
The Government said a further 57 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 173,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson continued to drive forward the Covid-19 vaccination programme, saying he "cannot stress too much" how important a booster shot is.
Mr Johnson said 2.4 million eligible double-jabbed people are yet to take up the offer of a booster, adding: "I'm sorry to say this but the overwhelming majority of people who are currently ending up in intensive care in our hospitals are people who are not boosted.
"I've talked to doctors who say the numbers are running up to 90% of people in intensive care who are not boosted."
There are no official NHS figures on the vaccination status of people in intensive care but medics have warned the vast majority are either unvaccinated or have not had all their doses.
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