UK records highest ever one-day rise in coronavirus cases

Deaths rise by further 326

The UK has recorded its highest ever daily rise in coronavirus infections, with 35,928 new Covid-19 cases reported on Sunday.

This brings the total number of coronavirus cases in the UK to more than 2.04 million. 

A further 326 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the virus were also announced on Sunday, which is lower than the 534 reported on Saturday.

As a result of the latest figures, the UK’s death toll during the pandemic now stands at 67,401, one of the highest totals of any country. 

The government has introduced toughened restrictions in London and the southeast of England to try to curb the spread of a new, fast-spreading variant of the virus, while Wales has entered another national lockdown. Nicola Sturgeon has banned travel in and out of Scotland.

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said the decision to put millions into an effective lockdown under tier 4 measures was taken rapidly after evidence showed the new strain was responsible for spiralling cases.  

The move was followed by several EU nations halting flights coming from Britain over concerns about the new Covid-19 strain known as VUI 202012/01, with Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Italy all announcing restrictions on UK travel.

France’s prime minister Jean Castex announced the decision on Sunday, tweeting: “Given the new health risk, and pending its assessment, all flows of people from the United Kingdom to France are suspended from midnight tonight, for 48 hours, and for all means of transport."

Other countries have already taken a longer-term approach. Germany, for instance, has banned on flights from Britain until at least 31 December. 

Explaining the decision earlier on Sunday, Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn told public broadcaster ARD: “[The mutation] has not yet been identified in Germany. But of course we take the reports from Britain very seriously."

Viruses mutate regularly, and scientists have found thousands of different mutations among samples of the virus causing Covid-19. 

Many of these changes have no effect on how easily the virus spreads or how severe symptoms are.

Susan Hopkins, of Public Health England, said while the variant has been circulating since September, it was not until the last week that officials felt they had enough evidence to declare that it has higher transmissibility than other circulating coronaviruses.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said in a speech on Sunday that the prime minister had waited until the “eleventh hour” to take the decision on tier 4 and cancelling Christmas. 

Mr Starmer said: “The prime minister’s claim that this is all down to a new form of the virus that has only just emerged doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.” 

“We’ve known about rising infections and the NHS reaching capacity in many parts of the country for weeks,” he added.