Another 42,848 COVID-19 cases and 127 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in the latest 24-hour period.

That compares to 50,584 infections on Friday and 143 deaths.

A week ago, daily infections stood at 39,567 and fatalities at 131.

The number of booster vaccinations – or third doses – administered has risen to 19,809,442 (34.4% of the population aged 12 and over).

The latest number of people in hospital with COVID is 7,373 – a drop of almost 2,300 since the start of November.

In other news, a marked rise has been seen in the number of children admitted to hospital in South Africa – the epicentre of the new Omicron variant – but cases are “mild”, a public health expert has said.

The increase has sparked concerns that the latest COVID-19 strain, which has spread rapidly around the world, could pose a greater risk to youngsters.

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But the authorities in South Africa said the surge should trigger vigilance, not panic.

The UK Health Security Agency said on Friday that another 75 cases of Omicron had been found in England.

It also issued a risk assessment, in which it expressed concerns about the variant’s potential ability to bypass both naturally-acquired and vaccine-acquired immunity.

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