Britain today announced that 563 more people have died of coronavirus – the third deadliest Sunday of pandemic.
The last time so many deaths were reported was on Sunday April 12, when 657 were recorded.
It is another sign that the virus is on the rise across the country with figures today also higher than last week, when 455 people died.
Diseases remain high, with 54,940 reported on the day, the thirteenth day in a row they have been above the 50,000 mark.
Figures are generally lower on Sundays, with 1,035 deaths recorded yesterday.
The British Covid-19 death toll is now at 81,431, and cases are now at 3,072,349.
Today’s figures come at the end of the first week of England’s third national closure – amid warnings from the government that up to one in 50 people have the virus.
But as the spread of the NHS vaccine continues, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned that it is ‘very likely,’ that people will be vaccinated against Covid every year, as it is the flu.
He told Sky News ‘Sophy Ridge Program on Sunday:’ I think it’s very likely that there will be a dual vaccination program for what is expected, this is the medium term, of the flu and Covid. ‘
He said: ‘Flu vaccination levels are at an all-time high. More than 80 per cent of people over 65 have been vaccinated for flu this year. That’s the biggest increase, jumping last year when it was around 70 percent.
‘That’s good news. It is good news for two reasons. Firstly, to protect people from the flu and secondly because it shows that most people over 65 want to be vaccinated. ‘
Earlier today it was reported that three cities in and around London are Covid hotspots in the UK for infection rates – with up to 1 in 15 people contracting the virus in one area alone .
Earlier today Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed that the Covid-19 injection could be an annual vaccine – like the flu. It comes as Britain records a further 563 deaths
Barking and Dagenham in London, the nearby Redbridge area, and the travel area to Thurrock, in Essex, are all involved in a devastating explosion of the new Covid mutant type, figures show .
Eye-opening data shows that Barking and Dagenham are the worst area in the country for disease rates, with 1,708 cases per 100,000 people.
Redbridge is the second worst hit area in terms of infection rate, with 1,571 cases per 100,000 people, and Thurrock is third on the list with a rate of 1,566 cases per 100,000, according to the latest Government figures.
It comes as separate data from the Office for National Statistics infection survey – taken from private households alone – shows that around 1 in 15 people in the borough of Redbridge have been receiving Covid. last week.
Earlier, it was suggested that pubs and bars in England could close until early May under magical plans being investigated by officials.
No10 is said to be privately gloomy about the prospects at the end of next month’s third lockout. March 23 – the anniversary of the first lock – in – is touted as a more reasonable end date.
Boris Johnson has already warned that locking measures are unlikely to be lifted all at once, for a gradual increase of restrictions as vaccine numbers rise.
But today it was suggested that the bank holiday on May 3, is a date more likely for shoppers to reopen their doors to a thirsty public.
‘May bank holidays are more likely when you see pubs reopening,’ a source told the Sunday Times.
It came as Health Secretary Matt Hancock refused to deny that tougher locking measures could be introduced if the messages of staying at home right now are avoided.
When asked if ministers would consider invitations, close nurseries, ban support bubbles, limit exercise to one hour per day or force them to wear masks outside, he said: ‘I do not want to profit, because the most important message is not whether the government will strengthen the rules anymore, the most important thing is that people stay at home and follow the rules that are us. ‘