BORIS JOHNSON faced increasing pressure to clarify the tipping point for imposing further coronavirus restrictions today as NHS staff absences double and infections across Britain soar.

In England, 18,829 NHS staff at acute hospital trusts were absent due to reasons relating to coronavirus on December 19, up 54 per cent from 12,240 a week earlier, according to the data from NHS England.

London has been the worst hit as 3,874 NHS staff at acute trusts were absent for Covid-19 reasons on December 19, more than double the week before.

The total included staff who were ill with Covid-19 or having to self-isolate.

An estimated 1.4 million people in Britain had the virus in the week ending December 16, the highest number since comparable figures began in autumn 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The Prime Minister has been facing calls to outline his post-Christmas Covid strategy for England, with leaders in Wales and Scotland all having announced new restrictions to tackle the omicron variant.

Labour shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell claimed Mr Johnson is unable to make calls on Covid-19 data because he has “lost authority with the public.”

She told Sky News: “I think what we would like to see … is more clarity around what data points the government is looking at [and] where the thresholds lie within those areas that are data points.

“And if those thresholds are crossed, what action would then follow, or what action wouldn’t follow if the data comes back in a more positive way.

“What are the … set of restrictions that may or may not come in depending on those data points? Because at the moment, I think a lot of people just feel like they’re really stabbing in the dark.”

Royal College of Nursing director for England Patricia Marquis said that hospitals were already short-staffed and can ill-afford such high numbers to be away from work.

She said: “There is much more that hospital trusts and other employers can do to keep nursing and other staff protected from workplace infection, especially those caring for suspected or known patients with Covid-19.

“We expect to see employers’ risk assessments and evidence of individualised risk assessments for our vulnerable staff.

“Where risk assessments cannot control risks of Covid-19, then the highest grade of PPE for our members. We cannot have a postcode lottery for staff safety.

“Faced with growing staffing shortages and rising patient numbers in the coming days and weeks, difficult decisions will need to be made but we will not support any measures we consider to be detrimental to patient or professional safety.”

Health Secretary Sajid Javid acknowledged that staff absences due to Covid-19 are adding to pressures on the NHS but said the easing of self-isolation rules will help.

He added that there will be no further announcements on restrictions in England before Christmas.

A further 119,789 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases were recorded in the UK as of this morning, a new record for daily reported cases.

The government said that a further 147 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.

Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 173,000 deaths registered in Britain where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.