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We'll be back with all the latest COVID news first thing on Friday.

Infection rates are currently at 354 cases per 100,000 across the whole of the UK, though the picture varies widely depending on where you live.

The area with the lowest case rate is Thanet in Kent, where there are just 121 cases per 100,000 people...

At the other end of the scale, Kettering in Northamptonshire has 1,011 cases per 100,000 people...

Previous estimates by Public Health England (PHE) had put the number at 230,800 admissions.

According to new PHE figures, the number of deaths estimated to have been prevented in England by vaccines has increased to 127,500, from a previous figure of 123,100.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the latest COVID-19 surveillance report shows case rates are also lowest in the over-80s.

Case rates are currently highest in the East Midlands 鈥� but lowest in London.

Although hospital admissions remain highest among people aged 85 and over, they have decreased since last week, the UKHSA added.

The surveillance report also shows the North East has the highest amount of hospital admissions this week.

COVID-19 incident director Dr Meera Chand said: "Case rates remain high across the country, especially among young people."

COVID-19 cases in Melbourne, Australia have surged to record levels despite a strict lockdown being in place for nearly two months.

Officials in Victoria, where the city is located, blamed the rise on illegal home gatherings to watch a sporting event.

Authorities estimated nearly a third of Thursday's 1,438 new cases could be traced back to home parties last weekend to watch the Australian Rules Football Grand Final on TV.

State premier Daniel Andrews said: "Many of these cases were completely avoidable. 

"I'm not trying to blame anyone, I'm simply trying to explain because a lot of people will be scratching their heads - how could it have gone up by so much, so fast."

The latest figures from the Scottish government show a further 35 deaths have also been recorded.

They confirmed 74 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID, while 998 patients were in hospital with the virus.

So far, 4,189,701 people in Scotland have had a first jab while 3,837,689 are fully vaccinated.

Some 58% of appointments were carried out in-person in August - the first full month since nearly all legal restrictions were lifted - according to experimental data from NHS Digital.

In August 2019, 80% of appointments were carried out in person but this dropped to 52% in August last year.

The proportion of in-person appointments has been between 50% and 60% for the entirety of this year.

GPs have come under fire for not offering enough face-to-face appointments, but they say it is a "misconception" that GPs are not seeing patients face-to-face.

"Huge numbers of GP appointments are being made every day, almost half on the same day they are booked, with a higher proportion being made in person in August than July and all in line with infection control measures to keep patients safe," said chair of the Royal College of GPs Professor Martin Marshall.

"This is against a backdrop of intense workload and workforce pressures in general practice.

"Remote consulting will not always be appropriate. This is why in-person appointments are being made - making up almost six in 10 consultations in August - and have been throughout the pandemic when they've been necessary."

The first event of cycling's World Tour series has been cancelled for the second year straight because of the pandemic.

It would have included the men's UCI WorldTour and women's UCI ProTour races but Australia's strict quarantine measures have proved too big a hurdle to the competition.

"We have fully explored all avenues, but unfortunately in the end it was the border closures and quarantine requirements for more than 400 people that make up the international teams that proved to still be too difficult to overcome," the organisers said in a statement. 

An estate agents' body is urging the government to rethink the levels at which home buyers start paying stamp duty.

In July 2020, the stamp duty threshold was temporarily raised to 拢500,000 in England and Northern Ireland in an attempt to boost the stumbling housing market in the midst of the pandemic.

The holiday was tapered to 拢250,000 from 1 July this year, prompting a rush of buyers.

From tomorrow, the threshold will revert to its normal level of 拢125,000.

It comes at a bad time for buyers, with the average house price increasing by more than 拢17,000 since the start of lockdowns in March 2020.

Mark Hayward, chief policy adviser at Propertymark, said the temporary stamp duty holiday has been "a great success, creating a healthy and flowing market which has encouraged more people to buy and sell".

He continued: "With the holiday at an end, it is now timely to review the outdated levels at which people start paying stamp duty to reflect market demand, average house price and wage growth, given the basic, pre-COVID rates have not changed since 2014."

A total of 191,771 tested positive COVID-19 at least once in the week up to 22 September, according to the latest Test and Trace figures. 

That's up 18% on the previous week, and it's also the highest number since the week to 8 September.