New coronavirus cases rise by more than 3,000 in the UK for third day in a row

Video report by ITV News Correspondent Richard Pallot

The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has risen by more than 3,000 for the third day in a row, a level not seen since May.

Some 3,330 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the UK as of 9am on Sunday morning, just hours ahead of the imposition of tighter restrictions to combat the recent increase in infections.

Also on Sunday, a further five people were confirmed to have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the UK total to 41,628.

The rise in cases of the respiratory disease comes ahead of the 'rule of six' coming in to force across much of the UK on Monday in a bid to limit the number of people who can meet together and stem the spread of the illness.

Since last Sunday case numbers have soared above 2,000 per day until Friday when they began breaching 3,000.

The sharp rise prompted alarm from scientists across the UK, and the government hopes the new measures will prevent the nation from seeing rises similar to France and Spain.

France recorded more than 10,000 new cases on Saturday and Spain currently has the highest number of infections in Europe, despite both nations bringing the disease under control during a lockdown in the spring.

The recent rise in the UK has been attributed to young people, who are fairly safe from the disease, but there are fears it is spreading up the age groups and critically back into care homes.

Bolton continues to record the highest seven-day rate of infection in England.

More than 500 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the town in the seven days to September 10, according to new data from Public Health England.

A total of 552 cases were recorded – the equivalent of 192.0 cases per 100,000 people, up from 126.2 per 100,000 in the previous week (the seven days to September 3).

Four other areas of England also have rates that are now higher than 100 cases per 100,000:

  • Blackburn with Darwen with 118.2, up from 61.5

  • Hyndburn with 114.8, up from 43.2

  • Oadby and Wigston with 114.0, up from 24.6

  • Preston with 102.0, up from 61.5

ITV News Correspondent Richard Pallot says that France and Spain, which have both seen more than 10,000 coronavirus cases in a day, could be an indicator of what is to come for the UK

England

All five of the people who died of coronavirus in the UK in the past 24 were in England.

Some 2,837 of the 3,330 new cases in the UK were recorded in England.

Wales

There have been a further 162 cases of Covid-19 in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 19,390.

Public Health Wales said no further deaths had been reported, with the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic remaining at 1,597.

Scotland

A total of 244 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Scotland in the past 24 hours, the latest Scottish Government figures show – the highest daily figure since May 6.

The statistics show that 22,679 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 22,435 the day before. This is 3.7% of newly-tested individuals.

No deaths of confirmed Covid-19 patients have been recorded in the past 24 hours and the number of fatalities remains at 2,499.

Northern IrelandThere were 87 new cases of coronavirus in Northern Ireland bringing the total to 8,314.

There were no new confirmed deaths.