THERE will be no further Covid restrictions in England before the new year despite a rise in Covid cases.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said yesterday people should “remain cautious” and celebrate outside on New Year’s Eve if possible.

He added: “When we get into the new year, of course we will see then whether we do need to take any further measures, but nothing more until then at least.”

The decision comes despite England reporting a record number of cases on Christmas Day.

The figures showed there were 113,628 new infections reported in England, 103,558 on Boxing Day and 98,515 yesterday.

In the Tendring district, 167 new cases of Covid were confirmed today.

A total of 1,436 people tested positive for Covid in the district between December 21 and 27, an increase of 21.8 per cent.

There were 63 patients in East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust hospitals with coronavirus on December 21.

Of those patients, 13 are in hospital beds with a mechanical ventilator.

There was also a Covid-related death reported in Tendring yesterday and six deaths within the past week.