A further 129,471 Covid-19 cases were recorded on Tuesday, setting another new single-day record amid the spread of the new Omicron variant.
It brings the seven-day infection total to 802,137, representing an increase of 30.3 per cent on the previous week.
The government also said a further 18 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19. It warned that the data was incomplete due to holidays, and does not include figures for Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile The NHS in England recorded a 44 per cent weekly increase in hospital admissions on Christmas day, with admissions in the capital up by 68 per cent while admissions increased in every region, new data shows.
Admissions, on a seven day basis, were up in every region across England by Christmas day with the North West up by 60 per cent within a week, according to the latest figures available.
Hospitals in East of England and Midlands saw a 48 and 47 per cent increase respectively, while the South West saw an increase in total admission of just 2 per cent.
