Covid: UK announces more than 10,000 new cases for the first time

The United Kingdom has announced more than 10,000 cases of the new coronavirus for the first time since mass testing began.

There were 12,872 new cases, while 49 more people died within 28 days of the result of the Covid-19 virus test.

However, the government said a technical issue meant that some cases this week weren’t recorded at the time, so they were included in Saturday’s data.

This comes after the data was made earlier this week The suggested infection may rise more slowly than in previous weeks.

This data was based on weekly testing among a sample of people in the community to get an idea of ​​how many people in England are infected with the virus at any given time.

The government is also closely monitoring the daily number of positive cases, as it provides the most recent snapshot.

However, it did post a warning message on its site Dashboard, Explaining that the reported totals during the coming days will include some cases from the previous week, “which increases the number of reported cases.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said the case did not affect the people who received the test results, and all those who tested positive were informed the normal way.

The announcement of the apparent flaw in the daily count comes “at a critical moment”, according to BBC Health Editor Hugh Beam, “when there is intense scrutiny of daily Covid-19 data as ministers and health chiefs try to assess the rate of spread of the virus.”

He added, “After criticism in recent months about the way to calculate the total number of examinations, ministers and officials will now face more questions about collecting daily case data.”

The daily total saw a significant rise from 4,044 on Monday to its highest level at that time at 7,143 on Tuesday. However, over the next four days, the daily total remained steady – ranging between 6,914 and 7,108 – at a time when increases were expected to continue.

Then came the big jump in the numbers announced on Saturday, a much larger daily increase than at any time in the entire epidemic, which was announced five hours later than usual and was accompanied by the government explanation.

The numbers announced on Saturday were inflated in part due to the fact that 264,979 tests were processed the day before, the third-highest level so far in a single 24-hour period.

Saturday’s figure brings the total number of cases registered in the UK to 480,017.

The increase in the UK is largely reflected throughout Europe.

• On the same day, France recorded 16,972 new cases – a new daily high for the country
• The Netherlands and Belgium respectively reported 3,967 and 3,175 new positive results, which are also new highs in both countries
• Meanwhile, Russia, which has the largest population in Europe, recorded 9,859 cases – the highest level since May

On Saturday, restrictions are more stringent It came into effect in parts of northern England After the high incidence of Coronavirus.

It is now illegal to meet people indoors from other homes in the Liverpool, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Warrington area.

This means that more than a third of the UK is now under tight restrictions.

They had been It was also tightened this week in Newcastle, Northumberland, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland and County Durham, as well as Four regions in North Wales.

New rules are coming Hundreds of Northumbria University students are self-isolating After testing positive for Covid.

in another place, People arriving in the UK from Turkey and Poland are now required to be quarantined For two weeks.

The new rules – which also apply to the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba – went into effect at 04:00 GMT on Saturday.

After a steady decline since the first peak in April, confirmed daily coronavirus cases in the UK have risen again since July, with the growth rate increasing sharply since the end of August.

Sage, the body that advises the British government, says it is still “very likely” that the epidemic is growing exponentially across the country.

The most recent R estimate – which indicates how quickly the epidemic is growing or falling – has risen to between 1.3 and 1.6.

But the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey It was estimated that there were 8,400 new cases per day in England in the week ending September 24 – slightly down from the previous week’s estimate of 9,600 daily cases.

The Office for National Statistics’ estimates of the number of people currently infected are based on testing a representative sample of people in homes with or without symptoms.

It differs from the number that the Ministry of Health publishes daily. This records positive cases in people with possible Covid symptoms who order tests.