CONFIRMED cases of the Covid Omicron variant in the North East surged over the festive period, official figures have revealed.
The number of people testing positive with the variant has more than doubled across the region in a week according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
It comes as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a Downing Street press conference later today to provide an update on the spread of Omicron.
Read more: Boris Johnson press conference today: What Boris might announce at 5pm
According to the UKHSA, the situation in the North East has seen Omicron cases rise from 3,630 on December 24 to 8,765 on December 31.
The latest figures, which showed how cases shot up in the space of just seven days, were released on Tuesday afternoon.
It is the first time since Christmas Eve that such figures have been published showing the impact of Omicron over the festive and New Year period.
But thankfully, the region currently remains the area with the lowest number of confirmed Omicron cases in the UK - with London leading the way significantly.
The figures from the UKHSA also revealed how a total of 212,019 Omicron cases have so far been confirmed across the country as of December 31.
See how the North East compares
We've put together a map, based on official data, to help you see how the region compares with the rest of the UK.
(Click on each area to see how many Omicron cases have been reported)
Due to its geographical size, England has historically seen the highest number of confirmed variant cases with hundreds of local authority areas.
How the four nations compare
England - 212,019
Northern Ireland - 12,772
Scotland - 13,649
Wales - 8,340
Read more: Another North East hospital trust suspends visitors due to rising Omicron cases
Tonight, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold will lead a Downing Street press conference at 5pm.
The Prime Minister will be joined by England’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.
The conference follows on as schools reopened classrooms across the country following the festive season with Omicron cases on the rise.
At the conference, the PM is likely to provide an update on the vaccine rollout and once again urge people to get the jab.
On Tuesday, the South Tees NHS Trust became the latest to suspend visiting due to a "significant" rise in Covid cases across the region.
Hospitals in County Durham and Darlington, Stockton, South Tyneside and Sunderland had already banned visitors due to the rise in Covid cases in recent days.
Announcing the move on Tuesday morning, a statement from the trust read: "Despite the enormous success of the vaccination programme, patient visiting restrictions and other measures to reduce the risk of infection, remain in place to protect those who are immunosuppressed or have not yet been fully jabbed.
“This is important for patients who rely on us as a specialist tertiary, cancer and Regional Major Trauma Centre.”
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