A further 88,376 lab-confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the UK as of 9am - the highest daily total since the pandemic began.
This is almost 10,000 more cases than the previous record which was set yesterday (Wednesday).
According to the UK Health and Security Agency, an additional 1,691 Omicron cases have been identified in the UK.
This brings the total number of confirmed Omicron cases to 11,708.
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The government confirmed that a further 146 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, while figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 172,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
The rising number of Omicron cases come as France is set to ban British holidaymakers due to the UK's surge in cases of the new variant.
A total of 51,360,987 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by December 15, Government figures show. This is a rise of 28,067 on the previous day.
Some 46,881,291 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 38,794.
A combined total of 25,477,345 booster and third doses have also been given, a day-on-day rise of 745,183.
Separate totals for booster and third doses are not available.
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