THE UK has recorded 39,036 new Covid infections overnight as Brits battle their way through surging infections.
Another 574 people have died as the toll hits highs last seen during the peak of the first wave in April.
Today’s rise in cases is only slightly lower than it was yesterday, when 39,237 new infections were recorded.
It comes as:
- Yesterday saw the highest death toll since April
- Experts warn the new strain could kill more Brits in 2021 than the original virus which took hold this year
- London’s Covid cases surged before tens of thousands rammed into train stations to escape Tier 4 Christmas bans
- China mocks UK as the ‘sick man of Europe’ – despite coronavirus originating in the country
Thousands of people will be in hospitals tomorrow, Christmas Day, as a mutant strain of coronavirus takes hold.
In England, a 30-year-old with no underlying health conditions was one of 350 patients to die.
Casualties were aged between 25 and 100, and all but seven had known underlying health conditions.
The Midlands suffered the highest death rate, with 87 fatalities, followed by the east of England, where 64 died, and and the south-east, where 53 people lost their lives.
Millions more in both the south-east and the east are bracing for Tier 4 lockdowns from Boxing Day.
A further 46 people in London, 44 in the north-west, 44 in the north-east and Yorkshire, and 12 in the south-west also died in hospital.
In Scotland, 1,314 new cases of Covid and 43 more deaths were recorded, while in Wales, now the UK’s virus hotspot, 2,161 people are newly-infected and a further 63 have died.
It comes amid calls to cancel Christmas altogether over fears people will pass the mutated virus onto loved ones.
24 million people in the south and east will be in the country’s strictest tier from 12.01am on Boxing Day – but some academics are demanding it be brought forward to today for the whole country.
Experts from the Independent SAGE group say much more is needed to control the spread of a new mutant Covid.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed a highly infectious new South African strain has been found in the UK.
Now the group have issued a statement claiming the situation is “rapidly worsening” and “incredibly dangerous”.
Tiers 1 to 3 “are not able to contain the spread of the new variant”, they say.
Modelling from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine shows the mutation will account for 90 per cent of new cases by mid-January, it’s claimed.
Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) say they believe around half of all new cases in England could be the variant.
An estimated 645,800 people in private households in the country had Covid between December 12 and 18, according to the body – the equivalent of around 1.18 per cent of the population, or one in 85 people.
In London, 68 per cent of positive cases from December 14 to 18 were estimated to be genetically compatible with the new variant, while in eastern and south-east England the estimate is 65 per cent.
For England as a whole, the statistics agency estimates that 49 per cent of new cases could be the mutant strain that resulted in the creation of the new Tier 4 restrictions.
The variation has caused travel chaos for Brits around the world.
On Thursday, China’s foreign ministry said it would suspend flights to and from the UK, joining a list of nations who have imposed travel bans in light of the discovery.
Elsewhere, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced that authorities would personally visit all travellers from the UK to ensure they are isolating.
