Covid cases jump by 37% in a week as number of hospital patients surge

Daily cases of coronavirus have risen by 37% in a week – with hospitalisations up by even more, Monday’s figures show.

The UK recorded 10,633 new daily infections in the past 24 hours – up from 7,742 seven days ago, as the Delta variant first identified in India continues to fuel a third wave of the virus.

Some five deaths were also reported – up from three the previous Monday.

But the Government will perhaps be more alarmed by the rise in hospital admissions, which has grown 40% week-on-week. But that figure may increase again, with the latest statistics only accurate up to Tuesday, June 15.

For that day and the previous two, well over 200 people were admitted each day – a significant rise on previous daily admissions.

1,316 Covid-19 patients were in hospital on Thursday, June 17 – up from 1,093 a week before.

The alarming rises comes as the Prime Minister declined to rule out a future lockdown later this year – on the day that had been earmarked for the easing of all restrictions.

Boris Johnson said that the new date of July 19 was ‘looking good’ but was more cautious when asked if he would rule out further lockdowns this winter.

‘You can never exclude that there will be some new disease, some new horror that we simply haven’t budgeted for, or accounted for,’ the PM told reporters during a visit to a laboratory in Hertfordshire.

‘I think what the scientists are saying is that things like flu will come back this winter, we may have a rough winter for all sorts of reasons, and obviously there are big pressures on the NHS.

‘All the more reason to reduce the number of Covid cases now, give the NHS the breathing space it needs to get on with dealing with all those other pressures, and we are certainly going to be putting in the investment to make sure that they can.’

It comes after Public Health England’s Covid-19 director Dr Susan Hopkins warned on Sunday of a possible rise in cases at the end of the year, adding that further lockdowns may be required if hospitals ‘start to become overwhelmed’.

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‘But I think we will have alternative ways to manage this, through vaccination, through anti-virals, through drugs, through testing that we didn’t have last winter,’ she added.

Her intervention came as the race to get as many people jabbed as possible before the new ‘freedom day’ continues. All adults can now book a vaccine and some 75 million doses have been administered, with around 43 million being first jabs.

Layla Moran, the MP chairing the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, heavily criticised the UK’s approach on Monday. She said: ‘The Government must immediately explain to the public whether this exponential growth in Delta variant cases suggests the country is in line for a severe fourth wave and further lockdowns. 

‘The Government must not again allow the hard-won progress we’ve made against the virus be squandered, like they did last summer.’

The UK has now recorded 4,640,507 cases of the virus and 127,981 deaths within 28 days of a positive test. However, Covid-19 has now been included on well over 150,000 death certificates.

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