Covid: UK Cases rise above 40,000 in single day for first time since pandemic began
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia
Coronavirus cases have risen above 40,000 in a single day for the first time since the pandemic began.
According to government figures, there had been a further 41,385 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.
It comes as hospitals in the South face a rise in pressure as the number of coronavirus patients receiving treatment heads towards the April peak.
Government figures also showed that as of Monday a further 357 people have died within 28 days of testing positive, bringing the total UK death toll based on that measures to 71, 109.
Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with other data, show there have now been 87,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England (PHE), said: "This very high level of infection is of growing concern at a time when our hospitals are at their most vulnerable, with new admissions rising in many regions.
"We have all made huge sacrifices this year but we must all continue to play our part in stopping the spread of the virus which is still replicating fast.
"The basics remain very important: wash your hands, wear a mask, keep your distance from others and abide by the restrictions in place."
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “We know that the rate of Covid-19 admissions is rising and some trusts are reporting up to three times the number of Covid patients than at the peak of the first wave.
“This means hospitals and also ambulance services in Tier 4 areas and beyond are incredibly busy, compounded by increasing staff absences due to illness and the need to self-isolate.”
Dr Nick Scriven, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, called the trend “extremely worrying” and said “systems will again be stretched to the limit”.
“It is not ‘just the case’ of using the Nightingale hospital as there are simply no staff for them to run as they were originally intended (mini intensive care units),” he said.
“They could play a role perhaps if used as rehabilitation units for those recovering but, again, where do we find the specialist staff – the NHS simply does not have the capacity to spare anyone.”
England
A total of 318 people who tested positive for coronavirus died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 48,860, NHS England said on Monday.
Patients were aged between 38 and 100. All except 13, aged between 64 and 92, had known underlying health conditions.
The deaths were between December 13 and 27.
There were 12 other deaths reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
As of Monday, there were a further 36,511 people who tested positive for coronavirus in England.
Public Health Wales reported another 15 deaths, taking the total in Wales since the start of the pandemic to 3,383.
There have been a further 2,273 cases of coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 141,915.
There were a further 20 deaths reported in Northern Ireland.
As of Monday, it was reported there were 1,634 new cases of coronavirus in Northern Ireland - but the figures could be higher as data may not have been recorded over the Christmas period.
Scotland
There were no further deaths in Scotland reported as the nation is not releasing death data between December 24 and 28.
Scotland had a further 967 cases of coronavirus, according to government figures.