Coronavirus case numbers rise by 2,621 as testing issues plague UK

Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen

There have been a further 2,621 new cases of coronavirus in the UK, a dip from the more than 3,000 in recent days, but concerns have been raised that a lack of testing could be hiding the true figure.

The new cases, as of 9am on Monday, bring the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK to 371,125.

Nine more people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 41,637.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have now been 57,400 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

The 2,621 new cases registered on Monday are a significant drop from the past few days, with Friday, Saturday and Sunday all recording more than 3,000 cases.

There are fears that the figures are not an accurate representation of new cases in the UK with a back log in the country's lab network creating shortages and delays.

The availability of tests in the UK has become a major issue again, with several areas currently under local lockdown reporting issues with getting access to them.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she has “serious concern” with the “backlog of test results” for Covid-19.

As Ms Sturgeon announced the latest number of new cases in Scotland she said she believed the figures were based on incomplete data due to issues with the testing system.

A source from NHS Test and Trace told Political Editor Robert Peston: "Demand for testing has gone through the roof. It’s almost like the loo roll phenomenon early on the year.

"We are doing more testing per head of the population than other European countries but at current demand even once we have doubled that testing capacity (which we will do by the end of October) we will still have the problem you describe."

England

There have been a further 2,259 positive coronavirus cases confirmed in England.

All of the nine new deaths reported in the UK were in England.Scotland

A total of 70 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Scotland in the past 24 hours, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

The statistics show that 22,749 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 22,679 the day before.

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

Wales

There have been a further 183 cases of Covid-19 in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 19,573.

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.

Northern Ireland

There were two further deaths from Covid-19 reported over the weekend in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health has said.

The death toll recorded by the department now stands at 570.

There have also been a further 109 new confirmed cases of the virus in the last 24-hour reporting period.