MORE than 1,000 cases of Omicron have now been confirmed in the North East – a rise of 466 in 24 hours.

The latest figures include data up until 5pm on December 17.

There have now been 23,168 Omicron cases confirmed in England and 24,968 in the UK.

The figure stood at 1,134 in the North East and 486 in Yorkshire.

Read more: Omicron Covid spread: Post-Christmas lockdown plan reported

There were 10,059 new cases of the variant reported, according the othe data from the UK Health Security Agency. 

They are among 90,418 new cases of Covid on Friday.

A further 125 people have died in the UK.

Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 172,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

The number of deaths in England of people with the Omicron variant has risen to seven, the UK Health Security Agency said, from the previous figure of one.

Hospital admissions in England for people with confirmed or suspected Omicron rose to 85, from 65.

Ministers are currently debating how to tackle the spread of the Omicron variant and are reported to be considering a two-week circuit breaker lockdown.

Boris Johnson was presented with several options that fall under "Plan C" on Friday, the Financial Times has reported.

The Plan C measures range from “mild guidance to nudge people, right through to lockdown”.

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