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The death toll from coronavirus in the UK has soared by 397, the highest increase in more than 5 months.
The number of positive Covid-19 cases has also risen by 20,018, according to the latest government figures.
The previous highest death toll occurred on May 28, with 422 deaths.
Today’s figures also mark a significant increase on Monday, when there were 136 deaths and 18,950 positive cases.
The big jump in the number of deaths comes when a second lockdown will be implemented in England due to the increasing rate of infection.
(Image: PA)
Boris Johnson has warned that coronavirus deaths during the winter could be double those during the first wave of the pandemic earlier in the year.
But a leading scientist said thousands of lives would have been saved if the Prime Minister had imposed a brief lockdown when experts recommended it.
Johnson rejected the advice of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) on September 21 that a shorter “circuit breaker” lockout was needed.
Professor Andrew Hayward said the measure would also have “inflicted substantially less damage” to the economy than the new national lockdown on England, which is due to be imposed on Thursday.
Professor Hayward, who is part of the Government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group, which works with Sage, acknowledged that “we cannot turn back the clock” to impose restrictions.
(Image: PA)
“But I think that if we had chosen a two-week circuit break at that time, we would definitely have saved thousands of lives,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
But more encouraging data suggests that the UK’s R coronavirus rate could be falling.
Figures released by the Covid Symptom Study, which is run by King’s College London, suggest that the rate could be closer to 1 than previously thought.
The UK’s R rate, which measures how fast the virus is spreading, is estimated to be around 1.1.
In England the study found it to be around 1.1, in Wales it is believed to be 1.2 and in Scotland it is believed to be 1.1.
This means that the number of new cases will double every 28 days.
On Friday, the government’s SAGE committee estimated the rate to be between 1.1 and 1.3, with a daily growth rate of 2% to 4%.
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