ACCORDING to recent figures from the Government show County Durham has the highest number of Omicron cases with Newcastle Upon Tyne coming close behind.

The figures, published on the UK Health Security Agency on December 16 show that there were 220 cases of the Omicron variant in County Durham.

Newcastle Upon Tyne, however, reported 181 cases of the variant and North Tyneside reporting 98 cases of the fast-spreading variant.

Read more: Cases of Omicron more than TRIPLE in North East in the latest Covid figures

The news comes after the most recent national Omicron figures published by the Government on December 19 showed that cases had tripled in the North East in the space of four days.

Figures published for each town and region, however, are not updated as regularly as national figures.

As of December 16, when the town figures were produced, the North East had a total of 984 cases, whereas on December 19, the North East saw 1,505 Omicron cases.

See how North East town’s compare on the map below:

(Click on each section to see the number of cases for each area)

Here’s the breakdown of cases in the North East as of December 16:

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  • County Durham: 220
  • Darlington: 12
  • Gateshead: 88
  • Hartlepool: 18
  • Middlesbrough: 41
  • Newcastle Upon Tyne: 181
  • North Tyneside: 98
  • Northumberland: 122
  • Redcar and Cleveland: 27
  • South Tyneside: 41
  • Stockton-on-Tees: 59
  • Sunderland: 77

The news comes after booster jabs were made available to all over 18s in England last week.

Meanwhile, Dominic Raab this morning claimed that he cannot rule out further Covid restrictions before Christmas.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the data is “always under review” but claimed the country is in a “better position to enjoy Christmas with loved ones” this year.

But he was unable to offer any guarantees as he advised people to be “careful and cautious” in the coming days.

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Amid reports ministers have pushed back against calls from scientific advisers for new measures to tackle the Omicron variant before Christmas, Mr Raab offered his support for the Government’s approach while noting all Cabinet ministers ask questions about the advice received.

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