Ambulances parked outside an A and E ward
(Picture: Getty Images)The UK has recorded 22,915 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the Government said on Thursday.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic to 1,453,256.
A further 501 deaths of patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 within 28 days were also reported.
According to Department of Health figures, the total UK coronavirus death toll stands at 53,775.
But separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 68,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
It came after a Government scientific expert warned that social mixing over the festive period could “throw fuel on the fire” of the second coronavirus wave.
Andrew Hayward, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said Britons are too focussed on having a “near-normal Christmas” and should be more concerned about their loved-ones’ health.
Reports suggest households might be allowed to mix indoors for a five-day period from Christmas Eve, and that three or four households could be allowed to form bubbles.
But Professor Hayward, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London (UCL), said people should worry more about the welfare of their parents and grandparents than whether they can sit down together for some mince pies.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday: “Mixing at Christmas does pose substantial risks, particularly in terms of bringing together generations with high incidence of infection with the older generations who currently have much lower levels of infection and are at most risk of dying if they catch Covid."
