Earlier in the day, the prime minister said that the new variant of the coronavirus, which was first detected in the UK last month, may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.

"We think, looking at the numbers of infections we've sadly seen as a result of the new variant, that big surge that the country saw in the Christmas period and afterwards … that the death numbers will continue to be high at least for a little while to come," Johnson said at a government press briefing.

On Friday, public health officials in the UK reported 40,261 new positive tests for the coronavirus, with 6,586 COVID-19 related deaths.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the UK has reached 3,583,907, with 95,829 COVID-19 related deaths having been registered.