Coronavirus deaths are up by 154 in England today, although Health Secretary Sajid Javid has insisted new restrictions are an ‘absolute last resort’ as Brits must ‘live alongside’ Covid
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Covid: 162,572 new cases recorded in UK
A record-breaking 162,572 coronavirus cases have been recorded in England.
A further 154 Covid deaths have also been logged in England.
Last Saturday 10 fatalities and 121,880 cases were logged in the UK, although England did not supply death figures on this date.
The Government’s coronavirus dashboard announced a ‘data issue’ today which meant the daily update for cases and deaths only included figures from England.
The website said: “Cases and deaths data are only included for England. Data for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will be updated after the holidays.
“Event date metrics will be updated retrospectively.”
Despite the soaring cases, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said new restrictions are an ‘absolute last resort’.
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He declared that Brits must try to ‘live alongside’ Covid over the next year and warned the latest wave will ‘test the limits’ of the NHS.
The Health Secretary predicted a huge increase in coronavirus hospital patients next month due to the time lag between infections and admissions.
Covid cases are at record levels, while hospital admissions are at their highest point since January.
It comes after Welsh and Scottish revellers avoided Covid restrictions by flocking to England for New Year’s Eve.
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England has so far held off on introducing harsh restrictions for pubs, clubs and restaurants.
Meanwhile, analysis has found that people who catch Omicron Covid are just one-third as likely to enter hospital as those who get Delta.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) unveiled an “encouraging” assessment of the variant which is now thought to account for most cases in Britain.
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Last week the UKHSA estimated Omicron sufferers were 31% to 45% less likely to attend A&E than Delta, and 50 to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital.
The UKHSA’s fresh analysis was more optimistic – finding the risk of attending A&E or being admitted was 43-50% lower, and the risk of full hospital admission was between 63% and 70% lower.
The news will likely be hailed as a victory by Boris Johnson, who refused to impose new Covid curbs in England before New Year’s Eve.
But medics warned the “encouraging” news was not enough to stop a large wave of hospital admissions because Omicron spreads so quickly.
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