By Covid cases continue to fall for the seventh day in a row
The number of Covid cases has fallen for the seventh day in a row with 23,511 cases recorded yesterday in the UK.
This is a fall of 23,077 from last Tuesday when the number of recorded new cases was 46,588.
However, the UK recorded 131 deaths from Covid, the highest daily number since March.
Although the rate of hospitalisation is rising, it is much slower than the previous wave due to the impact of vaccines, as more than 46.5 million people in the UK have now had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
The latest data showed there were 5,918 people in hospital on Monday, compared with 4,615 the previous Monday across the UK.
Government figures show that there have been more than 5.7 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and more than 129,000 people have died since the pandemic began.
However, these figures include only people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus.
The rise in cases was being driven by the Delta variant, which spreads faster than the previously most common Kent variant (now named Alpha).
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lifted all legal restrictions in England but he has urged the public to remain cautious, saying the pandemic is not over.
