Daily reported cases of Covid at highest level since late January as 22,000 people test positive

The number of new cases of Covid reported each day in the UK has risen to the highest level since late January, new figures show.

A total of 22,868 cases were reported by the Government on 28 June, the highest daily rise since January 30 when there were 23,275 cases reported.

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At a glance: 5 key points

- The Government said that a further three people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid as of 28 June

- In comparison on 30 January, during the second wave and when the vaccination uptake was a lot lower, there were 1,200 deaths reported

- The seven-day rolling average for reported cases currently stands at 16,612 – up 70% from the 9,778 a week ago and the highest since 9 February

- Of the 315 local authorities in England 291 (92%) have seen a rise in rates and 24 (8%) have seen a fall

- Hyndburn in Lancashire has the highest rate, with 444 new cases in the seven days to June 24, the equivalent of 547.9 cases per 100,000 people. This is up from 484.9 in the seven days to June 17

What’s been said?

The news comes as new Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs on 28 June that Step 4 of England’s road map out of lockdown would not be brought forward but “we see no reason to go beyond the 19th of July.”

Javid said: “While we decided not to bring forward Step 4, we see no reason to go beyond 19 July, because, in truth, no date we choose comes with zero risk for Covid.

“We know we cannot simply eliminate it, we have to learn to live with it.”

Background

The figures reflect the impact of the third wave of cases that is now spreading across the country, which is being driven by the Delta variant of Covid that originated in India.

Public Health England (PHE) said last week that 111,157 confirmed and probable cases of the Covid Delta variant had been identified in the UK – up by 35,204, or 46%, on the previous week.

Some 102,019 have been in England, 7,738 in Scotland, 788 in Wales and 612 in Northern Ireland.

The most recent data shows that approximately 95% of confirmed cases of Covid across the UK are the Delta variant.

As of June 21, there have been 117 deaths in England of people who were confirmed as having the Delta variant and who died within 28 days of a positive test.

Meanwhile, 1,465 patients with Covid are currently in hospital in England, up 14% from a week ago and the highest number since 23 April.

Additional reporting by PA.