Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a coronavirus press conference at 6pm, a No 10 spokeswoman has said.

It is thought Mr Johnson will introduce Plan B measure following a rapid rise of Omicron variant cases in the UK.

These restrictions may include vaccine passports for larger venues and an instruction to work from home.

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Today, the Government said there had been a further 51,342 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK.

It also said a further 161 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.

Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 171,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

More to follow.