As it happened: UK Covid cases hit highest daily total since January - BBC News
Latest figures also show another 448 cases of Omicron, according to data from the UK Health Security Agency.
Volunteers wearing PPE arrange food supplies at a residential block which is under Covid restrictions in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China Image caption: Volunteers wearing PPE arrange food supplies at a residential block which is under Covid restrictions in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China

There have only been 37 cases of Covid-19 confirmed today in China.

However, there are reports on how China has taken steps to tighten its border with Vietnam amid fresh concerns that cases of the virus could spill over from the country.

There have been reports in the last week about how two people illegally entered China’s Guangxi, and tested positive for Covid-19. This is the region that borders Vietnam.

In recent months, China has already taken steps to tighten its borders with Myanmar, Mongolia and Russia, after spates of cases were confirmed at cities close to their borders.

Even though two cases spilling over from Vietnam may sound like a small number to enforce tighter restrictions, China has a zero-Covid strategy, and locks down communities the moment a single case is identified. Top medical specialists project this strategy may be in force until the end of spring next year .

However, China is already close to meeting its local threshold for herd immunity. There have been more than 2.5bn vaccinations in the country, and at least 78.5% of China’s 1.4bn population have been fully vaccinated. Children as young as three are eligible for vaccinations, and booster jabs are under way in major cities.

Specialists have repeatedly said that herd immunity will equate to when 80% of the population is vaccinated.