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The UK has reported another 519 coronavirus-related deaths and 21,502 cases.
It’s a significant increase last Saturday, when 15,539 cases were recorded, along with 397 related deaths.
On Friday, reported deaths in the UK were also less than 424, while cases were overall equal to 21,672.
The total coronavirus deaths in the UK now stands at 64,025.
Most of the deaths (440) reported on Saturday were in England, 39 in Scotland, 31 in Wales and 9 in Northern Ireland.
The seven-day average of daily cases in the UK is 17,855 today, up from 15,308 last Saturday. As for deaths, the average is 432, just slightly more than 428 this time last week.
The increase in cases occurs as a range of R numbers of the country Light pink to an estimate of 0.9-1.0, from 0.8-1.0 the week before.
A number above 1 means that the outbreak is growing and below 1 that it is shrinking.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said on Friday it was not confident that R would be below 1 in all English regions, particularly London and parts of the South East.
He also said that the data more accurately represents the average situation over the past few weeks rather than today.
A long-awaited overhaul of England’s tier system took place on Wednesday amid speculation that some areas like London could move to the more restrictive Tier 3.
The first wave of Level 3 areas Massive rapid response testing has also been announced in people without symptoms.
The plan was successfully piloted in Liverpool and will now expand across England as a central part of the government’s plan to reduce infections.
Meanwhile, the Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be released to GP surgeries in a few days.
From tuesday people will be able to receive the vaccine in their family doctor’s offices, a week after the first approved vaccines were administered in hospitals across the UK.
