Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
The UK has recorded more than 100,000 daily Covid-19 cases for the first time since the start of the pandemic, in large part driven by the Omicron mutation.
Its toll on Wednesday, 106,122 cases, is the greatest number of infections reported since widespread testing began last summer. The Government said a further 140 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus.
The new high came as the four UK states tackle growing outbreaks, the Pfizer vaccine is approved for vulnerable young children and Princess Anne admits she is in isolation.
Across Europe, other countries are increasing Covid restrictions as the Christmas holiday week begins.
A total of 8,008 people were in hospital in the UK with Covid-19 as of December 21.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show 173,000 death certificates registered in the UK mention Covid-19.
Omicron is now the dominant variant among new cases of coronavirus in all regions of England, new analysis suggests.
In London, which was the first English region to see Omicron become the dominant strain, 90.2 per cent of sample coronavirus cases detected the likely presence of the variant.
For England as a whole, the figure, published by the UK Health Security Agency, is 76 per cent.
The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine was approved for use by five to 11-year-olds on Wednesday, with an estimated 330,000 in the new category.
A low-dose version of the vaccine has been approved for those aged 5 to 11 who are in a clinical risk group, or who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed.
They should be offered a primary course of vaccination, typically two doses.
Despite the surge, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed he will not introduce new restrictions before Christmas.
He has refused to rule out further measures from December 26 onwards, despite the continued rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
But the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each announced new post-Christmas restrictions.
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A member of staff walks through a ward for Covid-19 patients at King's College Hospital in London. PA -
A sign urging residents to wear face masks in Nottingham. People who have tested positive for the coronavirus will now be able to leave home on day seven if they have two negative tests. AP -
A waiter cleans a table at an empty restaurant in London. Authorities are still urging people to stay at home amid fears over the Omicron coronavirus variant. Reuters -
Passengers wearing Santa hats sit on the top deck of a tour bus as they view the Christmas lights in central London. AFP -
Nurses work at a desk surrounded by Christmas decorations in a ward for Covid-19 patients at King's College Hospital. PA -
Empty tables outside a restaurant in the Seven Dials district of London. Covid-19 infections have surged in recent days, authorities say. AFP -
People receive a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at a temporary clinic set up in the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast. AFP -
Shoppers stroll through Carnaby Street in London. AP -
People, most of them without masks, skate around the Christmas tree at the Natural History Museum in London. Reuters -
Health workers speak with a patient inside a vaccination centre in Liverpool. AFP -
Tourists cross Westminster Bridge in London. AP -
A sign outside the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, which has been forced to close its doors for a week due to staff shortages related to coronavirus. PA -
Commuters at a quiet Waterloo Station in south London. PA
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has criticised the apparent lack of action by Mr Johnson’s administration.
“The UK government is in a state of paralysis,” he said. “Omicron has a doubling time of around two days and on that basis by Boxing Day we can expect to see many thousands of new cases across Wales every day.”
The government has urged those who are unvaccinated or eligible for a booster shot to come forward and be inoculated.
It has also slashed the Covid-19 self-isolation period in England to one week, from 10 days, for people who have a negative lateral flow test result for two days in a row.
In Northern Ireland, nightclubs will have to close at 6am. All indoor standing events will be banned and dancing, except at weddings, is also forbidden.
The husband of Princess Anne, Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, has tested positive for coronavirus, and they will have to isolate at home over Christmas.
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A health centre employee performs a coronavirus test in the Kurfuerstendamm shopping street in Berlin, Germany. AP Photo -
People present their vaccination status as they queue in front of the famous department store 'KaDeWe' in Berlin. AP Photo -
A coffin which contains a person who died with the coronavirus, and is labelled "Covid-19", in a crematorium's cold room in Meissen, Germany. AP Photo -
A quiet retail precinct during the introduction of lockdown measures in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Bloomberg -
A vast Covid-19 vaccination centre set up inside the France's national Velodrome near Paris. EPA -
A medical technician administers nasal swabs at a mobile testing site in Paris. AP Photo -
Children are vaccinated at a centre in Selestat, eastern France. AP Photo -
People queue up outside a pharmacy to have swab tests in Turin, Italy. EPA -
A crowd wearing face masks in downtown Madrid, Spain. AP Photo -
Nurses take care of a Covid-19 patient at the Basurto Hospital in Bilbao, Spain. EPA
Meanwhile, former UK prime minister Tony Blair has declared that those who refuse to be vaccinated, without medical reasons, are "idiots".
“Frankly, if you’re not vaccinated at the moment and you’re eligible and you’ve got no health reason for not being vaccinated, you’re not just irresponsible," Mr Blair told Times Radio. "I mean, you’re an idiot.
“I’m sorry, I mean that is, truthfully you are. Because this Omicron variant is so contagious, if you’re unvaccinated and you’re in circulation, you’re going to get it. And … that is going to put a lot of strain on the health service."
Gillian Keegan, a UK health minister, asked about whether New Year's Eve parties should go ahead, said: “There is uncertainty. We can’t predict what the data is going to tell us before we’ve got the data.”
The World Health Organisation said another Covid storm was coming to Europe.
“Within weeks, Omicron will dominate in more countries of the region, with a threat to push already overwhelmed health systems further to the brink,” said Dr Hans Kluge, head of the WHO’s Europe office.
