Audio By Carbonatix
The number of new daily confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK has topped 60,000 for the first time since the pandemic started.
According to government figures on Tuesday, the number of people who have tested positive was 60,916.
A further 830 people have died within 28 days of a positive test, up from 407 on Monday.
It comes as England and Scotland announced new lockdowns, with people told to stay at home.
At a press conference at Downing Street on Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said 1.3 million people had now been vaccinated in the UK.
He said 23% of people aged over 80 - some 650,000 people - in England had now had the vaccine.
Mr Johnson was joined by the government's chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.
Mr Whitty said data showed an estimated one in 50 people in private households in England had Covid-19 between 27 December and 2 January - "really quite a large number indeed".
The number of new daily cases has consistently been above 50,000 since 29 December.
Back in the first peak of the pandemic in the spring, the number of daily confirmed cases never went over 7,000.
However, it is thought the true number of cases then was much higher but not picked up because testing capacity was limited. It was estimated that there were about 100,000 new infections a day at the end of March - but there was not the testing to detect it.
Latest Stories
-
Ejisu Police release parents, arrest caretaker over missing five-month-old baby from Asafo Market
3 minutes -
AfCFTA needs efficient payment systems, borders and infrastructure to boost intra-African trade – Wamkele Mene
10 minutes -
Kow Essuman confident NPP will reclaim Ablekuma West ‘with a huge margin’
13 minutes -
Today’s front pages: Thursday, September 24, 2026
18 minutes -
EU launches ‘EU for a Secure Ghana’ project to tackle terrorism, organised crime and arms trafficking
18 minutes -
GPL 2026/27: Dreams denied first win as Medeama snatch dramatic late draw
27 minutes -
GFA petitions CAF to intervene over tickets for 500 supporters in Bouake
31 minutes -
PHOTOS: Black Stars train at Stade de la Paix ahead of Cote d’Ivoire clash
35 minutes -
Bright Ofori writes: Who should hold Africa’s at least two permanent seats on a reformed UN Security council?
42 minutes -
BoG set to announce new policy rate amid Middle East pressures
47 minutes -
Alan Kyerematen warns Ghana’s youthful population could become economic burden without jobs
49 minutes -
Fund Accra-Kumasi Expressway with private capital, not state funds – Alan Kyerematen
53 minutes -
Climate finance bureaucracy hurting vulnerable countries – Sierra Leone Minority Leader
1 hour -
Ghana–Yorkshire Trade & Investment Summit brings enterprise, culture and community together in Bradford
1 hour -
ECOWAS must move beyond climate talk to concrete action – Sierra Leone Minority Leader
1 hour