The Government has advised the public they should take a lateral flow Covid test before they go Christmas shopping.
The advice comes as infection rates across the country soar, with Brits advised to test themselves before visiting stores, shopping centres and high streets likely to be packed with people as we head into the festive period.
Worryingly, the number of weekly registered deaths involving coronavirus in England and Wales has passed a thousand for the first time in eight months.
BirminghamLive reports that the advice from Government reads: "You may wish to take a rapid lateral flow test if it is expected that there will be a period of high risk that day.
“This includes spending time in crowded and enclosed spaces, or before visiting people who are at higher risk of severe illness if they get Covid-19.”
A senior Labour MP has urged ministers to put extra protections in place to avoid a winter lockdown, pointing out that the coronavirus situation in some parts of Europe is "really worrying."
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told Sky News: "There are still parts of the country where the second jab rate, like Leicester or Blackburn, still isn't good enough. We really need to drive that up.
"And of course you need to put in other protections as well. We still don't pay people decent sick pay.
"We're still not doing enough to deal with the fact the virus is airborne - we're still breathing in contaminated air, we're not putting in place air filtration systems in public buildings to improve the quality of air.
"So the ball is in ministers' court really. They've got to put these protections in place to avoid further restrictions, but I definitely do not want another one of Boris Johnson's lockdowns.
"They do a huge amount of damage to family life, to community life, to the economy, so it is really worrying when you see what's happening in Austria and parts of Europe."
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