Britain's Covid case crisis appears to be slowing, official data today showed as fears grow around the impending winter wave.
Department of Health bosses posted 44,985 new coronavirus infections, up 3.6 per cent on last week's total of 43,423.
The single figure increase comes after seven days of infections spiking by at least 10 per cent, suggesting the recent uptick in cases may be beginning to slow.
And the number of people dying with the virus fell to 135 today. It was down 8.8 per cent on last Saturday's toll of 148.
The figures come after a Government scientific adviser said he is 'very fearful' there will be another 'lockdown Christmas'.
Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) and SAGE subgroup CO-CIN, said case numbers and death rates are currently 'unacceptable'.
But SAGE scientists insisted it was 'highly unlikely' that the NHS would be overwhelmed by the virus this winter even without restrictions.
Modelling by the group for England predicted that the combination of vaccine-acquired immunity and natural protection would be enough to keep hospital rates below levels seen during the second wave.
Boris Johnson yesterday resisted calls from health leaders for tighter restrictions despite the rising levels of infections.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said new cases could reach 100,000 a day but Downing Street insisted there was still spare capacity in the NHS and that Plan B would only be activated if it came under 'significant pressure'.
Meanwhile, it was revealed Brits may need three Covid vaccinations to go on holiday next summer but under-50s are unlikely to receive a booster until 'well after Christmas.
Modelling by SAGE predicted that the combination of vaccine-acquired immunity and natural protection would be enough to keep hospital rates below levels seen in the second wave. Even in the most pessimistic scenarios, the group estimated that daily Covid hospital admissions would not rise above 1,500. More optimistic models had them peaking at below 1,000 in winter. The above charts are based on modelling by Warwick University and look at how quickly people go back to pre-pandemic social contacts. It was based on the booster doses given 'sustained' immunity
Other SAGE modelling took into account 'repeated' waning from booster doses, and projected that hospital admissions could breach levels seen during the second wave in January under the worst-case projections
It comes as:
Rishi Sunak said booster Covid vaccines will prevent another lockdown as he defied health experts who warned the NHS could be overwhelmed this winter; Top scientists urged the Government to rollout Johnson & Johnson's vaccine as soon as possible because it may prove a game-changer in No10's efforts to persuade hesitant adults to get jabbed; Investigations showed one of Britain's richest men claimed up to £6million in furlough money despite saying he had 'borrowed nothing from the Government during Covid pandemic'.The Government said a further 135 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid as of today, bringing the UK total to 139,361.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 164,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate.
Professor Openshaw, of Imperial College London, told BBC Breakfast: 'I'm very fearful that we're going to have another lockdown Christmas if we don't act soon.
'We know that with public health measures the time to act is immediately. There's no point in delaying.
'If you do delay then you need to take even more stringent actions later. The immediacy of response is absolutely vital if you're going to get things under control.
'We all really, really want a wonderful family Christmas where we can all get back together.
