Nearly 12% of people in England had been infected with coronavirus by December last year, which is up from 9% in November, according to the analysis of random blood test results published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday.

One in 10 people in Wales, one in 13 in Northern Ireland and one in 11 in Scotland were also estimated to be infected by COVID-19, according to the data.

Britain is currently occupied by the third wave of the virus, blamed on a new strain believed to be highly infectious.

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Health chiefs have warned intensive care units risk being overwhelmed by the rising COVID-19 cases that have already led to the country suffering record numbers of daily deaths.

As per ONS, overall mortality for the week ending January 8 was 45% higher than the five-year average, although the official statistics body cautioned that the data could be skewed by uneven reporting over the holiday period.

London, which has been hit particularly hard by the latest wave, recorded an 85% increase in deaths, compared to the historic average for the same week.

The Medical Research Council at Cambridge University said last week that it believed the proportion of the population who have ever been infected in London was 30%.

Britain has recorded almost 90,000 deaths of people testing positive for the disease, one of the worst tolls in the world.