England’s “very high” Covid infection level is a “growing concern” as the NHS struggles to cope with rising patient numbers, a health official has said.
Today Monday, a further 41,385 Covid cases and 357 deaths were reported in the UK.
Some data for Scotland and Northern Ireland is not being released over the Christmas period.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, said: “Despite unprecedented levels of infection, there is hope on the horizon.”
She urged members of the public to “continue to play our part in stopping the spread of the virus” as the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine is rolled out.
“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,” Dr Doyle said in a statement.
Monday’s figure for new cases is the highest daily number reported by the UK government, and the first time the daily total has surpassed 40,000.
However, it is thought the infection rate was much higher during the first peak in April – but testing capacity was too limited to detect the true number.
