Virus cases hit 1,700 – the highest in nearly 3 months
... as global infections pass 25million
‘Slightly more confident’
CASES of coronavirus have soared again to the highest level seen in almost three months.
Britain yesterday recorded more than 1,700 new cases, which is the highest total since June 4.
There are concerns that young people are spreading the virus, amid reports of them breaking social distancing rules with illegal raves and house parties.
While deaths from coronavirus remain low, some experts fear the increase in cases could mean more older and vulnerable people becoming infected, and a rise in the death toll in the weeks to come. The Government said that as of 9am yesterday there were a further 1,715 laboratoryconfirmed cases of coronavirus.
The daily number, which brings the total number of cases in the outbreak to 334,467, is the highest since 1,805 new cases were reported on June 4.
Experts say it may be driven by a greater amount of testing, and that may explain why hospital admissions have not risen in line with cases. Dr Thomas House, reader in mathematical statistics at Manchester University, said: ‘If this figure is showing a rise in cases, it’s probably an increase among younger people. Older people are likely to be aware that they are at greater risk, so may be more cautious.
‘Younger people mix more under normal circumstances, and may have jobs or living situations which may make them go out more.
‘If the first wave was concentrated in hospitals and care homes, this picture looks very different in terms of the different types of people involved.’
The Government said 41,499 people had died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of yesterday – an increase of one on the day before.
Despite recent spikes in cases, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show around one in five council areas reporting zero deaths last month. No one died from the virus in 71 out of 336 local authorities in England and Wales, the latest figures suggest.
Just two council areas, Leicester and Ashford in Kent, saw more than 20 deaths with coronavirus mentioned on the death certificate, in the whole of July.
Professor Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University, said: ‘We can see from these figures that Covid-19 is operating like many other seasonal viruses, in spreading at a low level with a minimal impact over the summer.
‘People can be slightly more confident as they go about their daily lives and this shows that despite some areas having local lockdowns, the picture across England and Wales is quite reassuring at the moment.’
THE total of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has now topped 25million.
A surge in cases in many parts of the world has come after the virus was previously thought to be under control.
Cases in France are rising again ‘exponentially’, according to its public health authorities, with 7,379 recorded on Friday. This is back up to the previous highest levels of late March and early April.
India recorded 78,761 new cases in a 24-hour period at the weekend, which is the worst single day spike so far anywhere in the world.
It now has the fastest-growing daily coronavirus caseload of any nation, reporting more than 75,000 infections for four consecutive days.
The United States leads the global count with 5.9million cases, followed by Brazil with 3.8million and India in third place with 3.5million.
Death rates are not, however, as high as they were in the spring. Global fatalities from Covid-19 stand at more than 842,000, with the US having the highest number with 182,779, followed by Brazil with 120,262 and Mexico with 63,819.