UK Covid cases rise by record 129,471 in 24 hours as Omicron spreads

Pictured: A Moderna booster coronavirus vaccine dose is drawn into a syringe at a Covid vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, as the booster vaccination programme continues across the UK.

The Government said a further 18 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.

The data published on December 28 is incomplete due to holidays and does not include any data for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 173,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

A total of 51,679,435 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by December 27, Government figures show. This is a rise of 16,357 on the previous day.

Some 47,289,628 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 18,965.

A combined total of 32,696,064 booster and third doses have also been given, a day-on-day rise of 215,703.

Separate totals for booster and third doses are not available.