LONDON (UK) – Health minister Matt Hancock warned that the United Kingdom was at a “perilous moment”. More than 17,540 new daily COVID-19 cases were recorded on Thursday, up by more than 3,000 from a day before.
Government data showed that further 77 people died after testing positive for the coronavirus within 28 days. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals in England rose to 3,044 from 2,944 on Wednesday.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director for Public Health England, said, “We are seeing a definite and sustained increase in cases and admissions to hospital. The trend is clear, and it is very concerning.”
“Numbers of deaths from Covid-19 are also rising so we must continue to act to reduce transmission of this virus.”
Many parts of northern England, Wales and Scotland have witnessed new tough restrictions on interacting in public.
In a speech on Thursday, health minister Matt Hancock said he was very concerned about the rise in cases.
“We are at a perilous moment in the course of this pandemic. In parts of the country, the situation is again, becoming very serious,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing hospitalisations of the over-60s rising sharply and the number of deaths from coronavirus also rising.”