Insight Bureau: The UK has recorded the highest number of daily Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with 78,610 positive cases on Wednesday.

The previous record was 68,053 on 8 January – when the UK was in lockdown.

Speaking at a news conference, England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty warned that records will be broken a lot in the next few weeks.

He added people should prioritise what matters with regards to social mixing in the run-up to Christmas.

Speaking alongside Prof Whitty, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was “absolutely vital” that everyone gets a booster jab.

He warned that in some areas the doubling rate for cases was now under two days, adding: “I’m afraid we’re also seeing the inevitable increase in hospitalisations up by 10% nationally, week-on-week, and up by almost a third in London.”

He encouraged people to take tests before visiting vulnerable people and to meet in areas of good ventilation or outdoors if possible.

The Prime Minister said the government was not cancelling Christmas events by restricting gatherings or closing pubs and restaurants, but cautioned people to think carefully about the socialising they did.

He said: “I said many times that I thought that this Christmas will be considerably better than last Christmas, and I stick to that.”

More than 10,000 cases of Omicron have been recorded, with at least 10 people hospitalised. One person has died after contracting the variant, which is set to become the dominant strain in London.