Covid live: UK reports highest daily new cases since January with ministers keeping restrictions ‘under review’

UK records 58,194 new cases of Covid-19 and a further 120 deaths; UK government shown very challenging new information' on Omicron

• Two jabs give less protection against catching Omicron, UK data shows
• Omicron could overwhelm NHS if it is as bad as Delta, UK expert says
• Christmas care home visits in England could be restricted to three people
• Scientists use ostrich cells to make glowing Covid detection masks
• Mouse bite may have infected Taiwan lab worker with Covid

Fury over the release of a video showing Downing Street staffers joking about alleged lockdown breaches in the UK are only the latest scandal to rock British prime minister Boris Johnson's premiership.

For days, a succession of government ministers batted away questions about whether an illegal party had been held in Downing Street last December during Covid restrictions that banned gatherings of more than 30 people. But on Tuesday night that all changed: a video emerged of Downing Street staffers appearing to joke about a party alleged to have been held inside No 10 just days earlier.