Bristol recorded its highest ever daily rise in coronavirus cases last week as the Omicron variant began to take hold.
Government data reveals that of all the tests taken in the city last Wednesday (December 15), 899 came back positive - the highest of any day on record since the pandemic began.
Daily figures for today (Wednesday, December 22) show that nationally, more than 100,000 cases of the virus have been reported within a 24 hour period - another record-breaking high.
READ MORE: The Bristol area where covid cases have halved in a week
In Bristol, 794 new cases were recorded in the city today, and the wider West of England region reported five more covid-related fatalities.
While the daily figures show the number of cases reported on any one day, the historic records of days and months gone by offer slightly different statistics.
This is because they collate results according to the 'specimen date' - the date someone was tested - rather than the date the test result was recorded, which is what the daily dashboard shows.
On one day this week Bristol recorded daily case figures in excess of 900.
When ranked from high to low by specimen date, 899 is the highest figure, followed by 850 cases among people who were tested on July 15 of this year.
Three more people in South Gloucestershire have died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus, according to today's figures, as well as one more person in Bristol and one more person in North Somerset.
The breakdown of new coronavirus case numbers recorded today are below, with the total number since the pandemic began compared to the daily rise in brackets:
- Bristol - 86,911 (+794)
- North Somerset - 32,729 (+230)
- South Gloucestershire - 49,173 (+367)
- Bath and North East Somerset - 31,555 (+237)
Nationally, 106,122 new cases of the virus were recorded today, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 11,647,473.
A further 140 people have died within 28 days of a positive test, meaning the UK death toll is now at 147,573, excluding those who have not had a confirmed test result.
It comes as the Omicron variant continues to spread, although there are hopes that the wave might have already reached its peak in the UK.
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