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THE daily coronavirus cases today almost halved after a rise of 11,299 while 608 more fatalities were recorded.

The number of daily infections are significantly lower than those recorded this time last week when 20,051 more infections were recorded.

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Coronavirus cases are still growing in the lead up to Christmas
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Coronavirus cases are still growing in the lead up to ChristmasCredit: London News Pictures

The total number of Covid infections across the UK now sits at 1,538,794.

The new figures come as the number of deaths recorded in the past 24 hours brings the total number of deaths across the UK to 55,838.

The daily death toll is similar to that of the numbers released last week with the government stats showing UK deaths rose by 598 on November 17.


It comes as...


The numbers come as the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics reported the highest number of weekly deaths involving Covid since May.

The ONS reported there had been 2,466 deaths involving coronavirus in England and Wales in the week ending November 13.

It's the first time the figure has risen above 2,000 since May and marks an increase of 529 from the previous week.

Last night, Boris Johnson urged the country to continue to follow the rules as Christmas and New Year's approaches - warning we aren't out of the woods yet.

The national lockdown is expected to end on December 2, with the PM to announce which tiers will apply to which area on Thursday.

Mr Johnson has already warned that much of England will be placed in Tiers 2 and 3 as infection rates remain high across the country. 

It comes as the Oxford vaccine was shown to be able to be 90 per cent effective if an initial half dose is given followed by a full dose a month later.

It’s not clear why, but the team think it could be that a smaller dose may be a better way of kicking the immune system into action.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) would now assess if the 90 per cent effectiveness dosing regime could be used.

The UK has placed orders for 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine - enough to vaccinate most of the population - with rollout expected in the coming weeks if the jab is approved.

Mr Hancock added that Brits could expect to see life return to normal by Easter next year.

Matt Hancock tells the health committee there is 'absolutely no doubt that we can, we should, and we must learn about how we can best deal with a pandemic of any sort'
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