The UK recorded 981 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test on Wednesday, the highest number since 24 April.

The number of new positive tests reported in the 24 hours to 9am on Wednesday was 50,023 – slightly down on Tuesday’s 53,135.

The true numbers are likely to be higher due to some nations not reporting deaths over Christmas and a delay in reporting from some other places during the same period.

The news came shortly after Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that an additional 20 million people in England will move into Tier 4 restrictions in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.

This will mean 44 million people will be in Tier 4 from Thursday (78% of England’s population), 12 million people will be in Tier 3 (22% of the population), while no area will be in Tier 2.

Mr Hancock warned that the new highly-transmissible variant of the coronavirus, first reported in the UK, was now spreading across England, adding that cases are “doubling fast”.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said that, despite calls for school students to stay at home, most primary schools will open as planned on 4 January.

Some primary schools in areas with the highest rates of coronavirus will not open on that date, he added, although it has not yet been revealed which areas this would include.

Exam year students will return on 11 January, with other secondary school students to follow on 18 January, to enable preparations for the testing of pupils and staff to take place.

But there was some good news earlier on Wednesday, with the UK’s medicines regulator announcing it had approved a second vaccine for use.

The vaccine by Oxford University and AstraZeneca offers a “route out of this pandemic”, Mr Hancock told Sky News.

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