The UK has reported a further 179,756 Covid cases in the past 24-hour period as four more hospital trusts declared critical incidents.

       The number is down from the 194,747 new cases reported on Wednesday.

       Another 231 people have also died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.

       It comes as a further four hospital trusts declared critical incidents - the highest level of alert which means there are fears priority services cannot be safely delivered - taking the number up to 24.

       Health leaders have warned the NHS needs government support to “get through this extremely challenging period” as it confronts a wave of coronavirus infections caused by the Omicron variant of the disease.

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       Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said it was “clear that we are facing a staffing crisis in the NHS”, with about 10 per cent of workers in self-isolation or on sick leave.

       He called for the government to go further than the current Plan B measures, which the Cabinet on Wednesday agreed to leave in place until the next review on 26 January.

       Transport secretary Grant Shapps accepted there were “very real pressures” on the NHS – but defended the government’s decision to not go further than Plan B restrictions for England.

       He told Sky News it was “not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter” and insisted the critical declaration was “not a good indicator” of the demands the health service was under.

       “We are always trying to find the right compromise on going too tight on restrictions – lockdowns, let's face it, they have a lot of costs connected,” he added.

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       “Then again, not wanting our hospitals to be overrun. This is where I think Plan B has been shown to be the right approach so far.”

       Additional reporting by Press Association