The number of people who tested positive for Covid is at the highest level in a month-a total of more than 10 million British people are currently known to have been infected.

The worrying news is that another 47,240 people reported that they were newly infected with the deadly virus today.

This is the highest total since October 22, when 49,298 positive tests were recorded.

At the same time, 147 people were killed.

These figures were released on the occasion of a day of bad news about the coronavirus, as experts warned that a "horrible" super-evolutionary mutation could be worse than Delta Air Lines.

Although the number of cases of B.1.1.529 is currently very small, virologists say that this strain, called the "Botswana" variant, has 32 mutations.

Some of them can make the variant better evade the vaccine. It may also spread faster.

Downing Street said officials are "investigating" the variant - and declined to comment on whether travel restrictions will be adopted to address the mutation.

Professor Francois Ballou of University College London said: "It is difficult to predict how infectious it is at this stage. At present, it should be closely monitored and analyzed."

"However, there is no reason to worry too much, unless its frequency starts to rise in the near future."

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick Medical School, told the Daily Mail that "it looks like" this variant may be better at avoiding vaccination.

"It's always difficult to tell just by looking at [mutations], and it depends a lot on how the immune system sees changes and responds," he said.

"But it...looks like it might be more worrying than the South African variant."

Elsewhere, embattled parents worry that schools may close again this winter, as principals begin to implement their own "circuit breaker" blockade measures.

Due to the increasing number of cases, children in certain areas have been sent home from classrooms, and learning has returned to the Internet.

St Mary's Church of England Primary in Hereford and Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio in Lancashire have been closed for at least a week.

Now activists worry that more schools will follow suit before the Christmas holiday.

They say that children are treated as "second-class citizens" and must be allowed to stay in the classroom.

Top academics also warned that if the British do not get their booster jab, they may face a second cancelled Christmas.

The ZOE COVID study estimates that 76,728 people in the UK are infected with symptomatic Covid every day, 18% higher than the 65,059 estimated last week.

The lead scientist of the study, Professor Tim Spector, said it was "too high" and "it's up to us to save Christmas."

He said: "It's really frustrating to see cases rise again, and unlike the previous wave, the recent ups and downs make it difficult to predict what will happen every week. 

"However, for me, the message is that the number of cases is still too high.

"Although our situation seems to be better than some European countries in terms of the number of cases, the number of hospitalizations and deaths in the UK is still relatively high, which is really worrying."

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