A busker performs under the Christmas lights in Covent Garden
(Picture: PA)Covid deaths reached 201 on Wednesday while 38,263 new infections were reported in the UK.
By comparison, the UK faced 214 deaths and 37,243 new cases on Tuesday.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 168,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Now a total of 50,645,981 people have had their first vaccine after 31,431 got their jab on Tuesday.
London’s West End was busier than pre-pandemic times for the first time on Saturday as people poured into the city to see the lights switch on amid the capital’s recovery.
People’s footfall in and around Oxford Street, Regent Street, Bond Street and Mayfair was 13 per cent higher than the same day in 2019, according to figures from business group New West End Company (NWEC).
It comes after Boris Johnson refused to rule out a Christmas lockdown this year as the festive season approaches.
When asked if he could categorically rule our a Christmas lockdown, he said: “We don’t see anything in the current data that leads us to think that we need to go to plan B that is several steps short of a lockdown.
“But clearly we cannot rule anything out and the most important thing people can do to prevent further restrictions from being taken is to get the boosters.”
