There has been more than 55,000 Covid-19 cases this month, figures have revealed.

As uncertainty over a future lockdown or tougher restrictions remain, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the firing line, there has been 58,661 positive coronavirus cases in Kent this December.

In total, 9,501 of those came from Medway, while the remaining 49,160 came from the rest of Kent, with all 13 districts recording pandemic-high infection rates.

There is a similar picture nationally, so the Prime Minister is facing pressure to introduce measures to curb the spread of the Omicron variant, as has already been done in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

From Wednesday, December 1 to Monday, December 27, 45 people have died from the virus in the county, including eight since the government's most recent figures on Christmas Eve.

As Boris Johnson and his government continue to urge people to get their boosters and vaccinations, figures show there have been more than 3,602,801 jabs administered in the county.

Of those jabs, just under a million - 910,333 - have been boosters.

It was thought the Prime Minister was planning to make an announcement after being brief on recent Covid-19 figures earlier, but it has since been revealed he will not be making an announcement today.

If no new measures are introduced, it would leave England at odds with other parts of the UK, which have been subjected to post-Christmas restrictions.

Conservative MPs have urged caution in going beyond Plan B in England, with veteran Tory Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown calling for a “wait-and-see” approach to the impact of rising case numbers amid the spread of the Omicron variant.

Sir Geoffrey said he hoped the Prime Minister would be “very cautious before introducing further measures” as he pushed for people to be able to “make their own decisions” when it came to taking precautions against infection.

The comments come as restrictions were brought in across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the Scottish government ordering nightclubs to close from Monday, while hospitality businesses will need to return to offering only table service if serving alcohol.

England is currently under the UK government’s Plan B rulebook, with guidance to work from home, mask wearing in shops and other public settings, and Covid passes to gain entry to large events.

As of Monday there are 225 patients in hospitals around Kent, including 61 at the Medway NHS Foundation Trust's Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, which is a 9% increase on the 206 people a fortnight ago.

Dartford still has the highest infection rate in Kent, and one of the worst in the country with 1,866.7 per 100,000 people.