The UK has recorded another 6,238 coronavirus cases – the highest daily figure for more than two months – as England’s R-number continues to rise.
The latest government figures also show 11 other deaths linked to COVID-19.
The number of cases is up from the 5,274 recorded Thursday, but the death toll is down from the 18 recorded in yesterday’s daily figures.
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The number of cases is the highest since March 25, when 6,397 were recorded.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) previously updated its estimate of England’s R-number to between 1 and 1.2, down from 1 to 1.1 previously.
This means that for every 10 people with COVID, between 10 and 12 more people will get the virus.
When the number is greater than 1, an epidemic can grow exponentially, but when it is less than 1, it means that the epidemic is decreasing.
During this time, another 191,266 first and 377,641 second doses of vaccine were administered, bringing the total number of people who had a vaccine to 39,949,694 and those who had two to 26,799,944.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said an increase in cases was to be expected as the country emerges from lockdown.
He said: “We always expected an increase in cases as the country opened up, the critical element is the impact on the number of people who end up in hospital for a given number of cases.
“That link has been severed by the vaccine, but it has not yet been completely cut.
“This is one of the things that we are watching very carefully, and it is too early to say what the decision will be before June 21, but we will make sure people know in due course.”
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It comes amid the news that the UK medicines regulator approved Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for 12-15 year olds.
The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the decision …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-04 13:44:00
