The UK has reported 16,135 new COVID-19 cases and another 19 coronavirus-related deaths in the latest 24-hour period, according to government data.
This is the highest number of daily infections since 6 February when 18,262 were announced.
The latest figures compare with 11,625 new infections and 27 fatalities recorded yesterday. Some 9,055 cases and nine deaths were announced this time last week.
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Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 153,000 deaths registered in the UK where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
Another 299,837 people received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine yesterday, while 250,875 people had a second dose.
This takes the total number of first doses to 43,448,680 and the number of people who are fully vaccinated to 31,740,115.
The total number of doses given is 75,188,795 jabs.
Figures show more than 60% of adults have been vaccinated with both jabs and more than 82.5% have been given a single dose.
Meanwhile, the UK’s travel industry is holding a day of action to put pressure on the government to reopen the sector and give more financial support to businesses.
Industry body ABTA estimates that 195,000 travel jobs have been lost or are at risk as a result of the COVID pandemic.
Ministers have been accused of failing to deliver a restart to travel by “undermining” the UK’s travel traffic light system.
Media minister John Whittingdale said he hoped the government would be able to put more countries on the green list of travel restrictions later this week.
It comes as the government changed its rules to allow football officials and VIP fans to attend games in the latter stages of Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium.
Coronavirus travel regulations have been amended to state that individuals with a “Euro 2020 invite” will not have to self-isolate or quarantine in a hotel on arrival in the UK to attend one of the matches.
The list of those allowed to bypass the government’s quarantine restrictions include executive members of UEFA, members of the council of FIFA and senior executives of the companies sponsoring Euro 2020.
Mr Whittingdale told Sky News there will be “some people coming in” for the semi-finals and final of the tournament, but they will be under “strict restrictions as to what else they can do and we have measured those things very carefully”.
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No quarantine for ‘important people’
In India the “Delta plus” COVID variant is now a big concern.
At least 22 samples of the variant have been discovered in Ratnagiri and Jalgaon in the state of Maharashtra, Palakkad and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, and in Bhopal and Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh.
And it has now emerged 41 cases of the Delta plus variant have been found in the UK.
