UK coronavirus deaths skyrocket to 1,325 in highest daily increase during pandemic

The death toll from coronavirus in the UK has risen to a record 1,325, the highest daily figure since the pandemic began.

That’s 101 more deaths than the previous highest daily national figure of 1,224 on April 21, during the peak of the first shutdown.

The official death toll in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test is now 79,833.

Infection rates also soared to a record 68,053 in the 24 hours through Friday.

Deaths were recorded in all settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, and the community at large.

The grim figures come as England remains under its third national blockade.

A total of 1,162 lost their lives to the coronavirus on Thursday.

Covid-19 infection rates have consistently exceeded 50,000 a day as a new and more virulent mutant strain of the virus spreads across the country.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan today declared a “major incident” in the capital, saying that the infection rate in the city had “gotten out of control”.

He said the NHS was at risk of being overwhelmed in the capital.

The number of Covid-19 cases in London has surpassed the rate of 1,000 per 100,000 people, putting immense pressure on the health service, which is already in trouble.

Between December 30 and January 6, the number of patients in London hospitals grew by 27% and the number of ventilators increased by 42%.

In the past three days alone, the NHS has announced 477 deaths from the virus in London hospitals.

Councils in London said one in 30 in the capital now has the virus.

The mutant strain that scientists believe originated in Kent has devastated the capital and south-east England.

The discovery of the new variant led the leaders of the four nations to scrap most plans to relax restrictions during Christmas.

More areas of England entered Level 4 shortly before Boris Johnson plunged the country into another total lockdown when infection rates soared.

The prime minister put the country on a war footing this week when he declared that the British military would support the launch of the vaccine in the United Kingdom.

His government has set a goal of vaccinating nearly 15 million of the most vulnerable people by mid-February.

Following criticism that the jab program appeared to be progressing slowly, the leader said the military would help ensure that “hundreds of thousands” were shot every day.

According to official data, almost 1.3 million people had received their first vaccination as of January 3.

However, officials said this week that the updated number is now closer to 1.5 million, reflecting a delay in the government’s public vaccine data panel.

UK government scientists have repeatedly claimed that they have no reason to believe that the Pfizer BioNTech and Oxford and Astra Zeneca vaccines will not work against mutant strains of the virus.

Viruses constantly mutate naturally, but experts had warned that the longer Covid-19 has to circulate in the community, the more variants it could generate.

Pfizer said this week that its own laboratory study found that the vaccine worked against the latest mutations discovered in Britain and South Africa.

The study by the pharmaceutical giant and the University of Texas medical branch has not yet been peer-reviewed, but the researchers said the results so far showed the jab seemed effective.