UK records over 200,000 Coronavirus cases, the highest daily figure so far

Covid records continue to be broken

The UK has recorded an astonishing 218,724 daily Covid cases and 48 Covid-related deaths, official figures show. Tuesday's figures, released after the Bank Holiday, come after 157,758 coronavirus cases and 42 Covid-related deaths were recorded on Monday, and as Boris Johnson is set to address the public at 5pm. They also come as a further 141,825 people had their booster jab, bringing the total to 34,363,986. The staggering case numbers come after multiple hospitals on Tuesday declared critical incidents, with nurses calling for more restrictions "without delay".

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Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said we were "sadly" seeing the number of people in hospital with the Omicron variant rise but ruled out any further restrictions. A recent number of studies have confirmed Omicron is a milder strain than the previously-dominant Delta, yet the highly transmissible variant has been driving significant workforce shortages and skyrocketing case rates. The Prime Minister will shortly hold a Downing Street press conference. He will be joined by Prof Sir Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, its chief scientific adviser. This is a breaking news story and will be updated.