The Government said that as of 9am on Friday, there had been a further 58,194 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, which is the highest reported daily figure in almost a year.
The last time a higher daily figure was reported was on January 9 when 59,937 cases were recorded.
It also said a further 120 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 171,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Fears over the transmissibility of the Omicron variant has also led to tougher restrictions implemented across the UK - with England introducing Plan B and Scotland bringing in stricter isolation rules from Sunday (12 December).
With Covid case numbers in the UK reaching the highest level since January, we have taken a look at 20 common symptoms you should look out for.
1. High temperature (fever)
A high temperature, or fever, has been reported by four in ten people reporting Covid symptoms and is sign your body’s immune system is trying to fight off the virus. Having a temperature over 37.8C is likely to be a sign of Covid. Photo: Shutterstock
2. Chills or shivers
Feeling shivery or having chills is a common response to a bacterial or viral infection that causes a fever. Photo: Shutterstock
3. Persistent cough
One of the three ‘classic’ symptoms of Covid, a persistent cough means coughing many times a day, for half a day or more, and it will usually be very dry. Photo: Shutterstock
4. Loss or change of taste or smell
Many people infected with Covid lose their sense of taste or smell, and have found that things smell different than they used to post-infection. Loss of smell tends to be an early symptom and usually lasts around five days. Photo: Shutterstock