Hackney currently has the highest R number in the country, new research has revealed.

According to research from the University of East Anglia (UEA), Hackney currently has an R number of 2.02 - meaning each infected person in the borough and in City of London will infect a further two people.

Not only is this reading of 2.02 the highest in England, but Hackney and City of London are the only areas with an R number above 2.

The research - released yesterday, December 16 - is based on figures up until Tuesday (December 14).

As the Omicron variant continues to spread, the latest figures show that cases are soaring in Hackney.

Data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) last Friday - December 10 - showed that there were 13 confirmed cases in Hackney and City of London as of December 6.

As of December 13, there are 169 confirmed cases - plus 481 sent off for extra testing.

To combat this surge, the government has launched a vaccine booster drive in recent days to better protect people.

According to the latest figures, a total of 412,966 vaccinations have been administered in Hackney and City of London - as of Wednesday (December 15).

Of these, 60,206 have been booster jabs - 20.3 per cent of the eligible population aged 12 and over.