UK Covid cases drop by 11 per cent in a fortnight with 1,671 infections and 14 deaths recorded in last 24 hours

CORONAVIRUS cases in the UK have dropped by 11 per cent in the past two weeks, with 1,671 new infections in the last 24 hours.

There have been 14 deaths from the virus recorded in the past day.

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Today's figures mean there have been a total of 4,420,201 cases in the UK since the pandemic began, with 127,538 deaths.

This time last week, there were 1,712 new Covid cases and 11 deaths recorded in the previous 24 hours.

Two Sundays ago there were 1,882 new infections recorded over the same time period.

Covid statistics are usually lower on Sundays due to a lag in reporting data.

Yesterday, deaths in the UK dropped by 78 per cent in a week with seven fatalities recorded, while infections rose by 1,907.

Today's statistics also show that 34,505,380 first doses of the vaccine have been administered.

The incredible vaccination effort has now resulted in 15,329,617 people receiving their second jab.

It comes as Dominic Raab today hinted face masks and social distancing could stay in place until after June as he warned Brits not to blow it now.

The Foreign Secretary urged caution in the "last lap" of the battle with Covid as there is just a "little bit more time left".

But he said "safeguards" will remain in place until after lockdown lifts on June 21 - the final phase of the roadmap.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr: "We want to get to a position at the end of June where we can get life back to as normal as possible but there need to be some safeguards in place."

When asked what additional measures might be need still, he replied: "It will be around distancing maybe there will be something around masks but I don't want to prejudge it."

Experts have previously said face masks could become the "new norm", with Professor Lockdown claiming they may be around until next year due to new Covid variants.

And Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, said social distancing measures and masks may be kept far beyond current lockdown measures.

Mr Raab's warning today came as calls mount to end the national shutdown early amid falling case rates and deaths.

But he argued "steady steps" are needed as he urged Brits to take caution over the next few months.

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The minister told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "I know that people are hankering to go a bit faster but actually we feel vindicated at taking steady steps out of the lockdown is the smart way to go.

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"We're very close now to really turning the corner and I think we still need to be careful to go as I said we don't want to see the gains lost and the sacrifices that have been made undone.

"By the time we get to June 21 almost all social restrictions will be lifted so there's only a little bit more time to go, but it's right to make sure we do that in a careful way."

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