UK Covid cases rise by 34,471 as Sajid Javid warns it could be 100,000 a day in weeks but deaths remain stable at six
COVID cases have risen by 34,471 - as Sajid Javid warns they could leap to 100,000 a day in weeks - but deaths remain stable at six, the latest data shows.
It is the sixth day in a row that the number of new infections has topped 30,000.
The latest health stats show that there were 34,471 new Covid cases, bumping up the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 5,155,243.
This is a jump from the previous Monday, when 27,334 cases were reported.
There have been 228,189 infections over the past seven days, a rise of 28.1 per cent.
There were six more deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, with the UK's Covid death toll now at 128,431.
That's a big drop from yesterday's 26 fatalities, and a slight drop from the nine Covid deaths reported last Monday.
Over the past week, 200 people have tragically died from Covid-19, an increase of 56.2 per cent, the government added.
Public Health England said that 45,923,721 people have now received their first dose of a Covid vaccine, while 34,872,131 have received a second dose as of July 12.
The rate of new cases of coronavirus in most areas of England is now back at levels last seen during the winter.
A total of 178,534 new confirmed cases had been recorded in England in the seven days to July 7, according to Public Health England - the equivalent of 317.2 cases per 100,000 people.
On Sunday, there were 31,772 confirmed infections, compared to 27,334 the previous week.
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Official data released by health bosses on July 11 showed that Coronavirus hospital admissions had yesterday surged by more than 500 for the third day in a row.
Also on Sunday, 26 Covid-related fatalities were reported, down from 34 on Saturday.
The latest stats come as Boris Johnson will tonight reveal his decision whether to go ahead with Freedom Day on July 19 at a Downing Street briefing.
The PM is expected to push ahead with plans to axe the majority of Covid restrictions next Monday when he addresses the nation at around 5pm.
Public alarm has been growing in the face of rising case numbers fuelled by the super-infectious Delta variant.
The UK as a whole has seen infections soar in recent weeks as a result of the delta strain from India.
Daily infection levels are running at over 30,000, their highest rates since January.
The government has warned that daily case numbers will rise further, potentially hitting 100,000 at some point this summer.
But, it is pressing on with the unlocking because of the rapid rollout of Covid vaccines.
As of Sunday, 87 per cent of adults across the UK had received at least one vaccine dose while 66 per cent have had two jabs.
The UK's vaccine programme has prevented between 7.5-8.5million infections, Sajid Javid today told the Commons.
Positive Public Health England data also found both Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs to be more than 90 per cent effective against the Delta strain after two doses.
And the third Covid wave may have already peaked, according to a leading scientist.
New cases have 'peaked'
Professor Tim Spector said it “looks like new cases have peaked at around 33,000 per day”.
He leads the ZOE Covid Symptom Study app, which tracks the size of the outbreak and symptoms with the help of millions of Brits.
Its daily report on Sunday said around 33,152 people are catching the virus each day based on swab tests up to July 7.
The figure is down from the 33,721 reported on July 8, based on swab tests to July 4.
These case estimations are symptomatic only and do not include people who may get the virus but show no symptoms.
For weeks the majority of new infections recorded by ZOE were clearly in unvaccinated young people.
But after millions of those aged 18 and over came forward for their vaccines from June onwards, new trends have emerged.
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More cases are now among people either partially or fully vaccinated, making up almost half of all new daily infections (13,432 of 33,152).
And there are fewer cases overall, likely as a result of jabs cutting transmission.
The five most common symptoms in people fully vaccinated are a headache, runny nose, sore throat, sneezing and loss of smell, ZOE data shows.
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Graphs of infection rates by region show that the number of active cases is levelling off in some parts of the UK.
These are the North West, Midlands and Scotland - where the prevalence of the virus appears to be coming down.
