Daily cases hit 6,000 in biggest jump since May

THE number of new daily UK coronavirus cases has topped 6,000 for the first time since May.

Government data released yesterday showed an increase of 6,178 cases and 37 deaths. The death toll was the same as the previous day.

It is the biggest jump in daily cases since May 1 when 6, 01 new infections were recorded – and up from 3,991 the same time last week.

Experts said the leap was ‘unwelcome news’ but also likely to reflect issues in the testing system, rather than the virus spiralling out of control.

Professor James Naismith, of the University of Oxford, urged people not to panic. He said: ‘The sudden jump is likely to reflect issues in the testing system reporting. It seems very unlikely we are back to a doubling of cases every 3 to 4 days. We will need to see a few more days of data to judge how fast case numbers are doubling.’

The latest reported deaths from hospitals, care homes and the wider community, brings the total number of UK coronavirus fatalities to 41,86 .

Hospitalisations continue to rise while the number of patients on hospital ventilators has climbed above 00 for the first time since the start of July.

There are now 1,469 patients in hospital up from 1,037 a week ago, with 11 people in mechanical ventilation beds. Surveillance data from Public Health England also shows the positivity rate – the ratio of positive tests to number of tests overall – is also increasing, suggesting the virus is spreading.

The latest report showed the positivity rate in community testing had crept up to between 4 to 5 per cent, and less than per cent in hospitals.

This is compared to between 1 to per cent in the summer months, suggesting the virus is spreading again.

Scientist say the increased numbers of positive cases will result in higher numbers of serious illness and death as winter approaches.

But they are also confident that medical and scientific advances will significantly reduce the toll compared to the height of the pandemic.

Yvonne Doyle, of Public Health England, urged people to follow the latest guidelines to halt the spread.

She said: ‘You should work from home if you can, must wear a face covering in retail and hospitality settings, unless you are eating or drinking and not be in a group larger than six people.’