Covid: UK sees another record rise in cases with 57,725 in 24 hours

Another 445 deaths within 28 days of positive test brings official total to 74,570

The UK has set another record for coronavirus cases after reporting 57,725 in the past 24 hours.

A further 445 deaths were also recorded by the Department of Health and Social Care, bringing the official total to 74,570.

The latest daily case figures are the highest since the beginning of the pandemic and mark an increase from the previous record, set on New Year’s Eve, of 55,892.

Of the new cases, 49,248 were reported in England, 3,576 in Northern Ireland, 2,137 in Scotland and 2,764 in Wales.

The figures were released as the government came under increasing pressure to keep all schools closed in England amid fears over the spread of the new, more infectious strain of Covid.

Education unions have hit out at what they described as the “reckless” strategy of the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, to reopen primary schools outside London on Monday.

The National Association of Headteachers called for all schools to move to home learning for a “brief and determined period” as it announced legal action against the Department for Education, while the National Education Union said it would inform its members of their legal right not to return to classrooms in “unsafe conditions”.

Experts on the government’s advisory group Sage said that it was “highly unlikely” the R rate of transmission could be brought down to below 1 while schools remained open, as was the case during the second national lockdown in November.

The scientists said: “R would be lower with schools closed, with closure of secondary schools likely to have a greater effect than closure of primary schools. It remains difficult to distinguish where transmission between children takes place, and it is important to consider contacts made outside of schools.”

Meanwhile, UK hospitals began receiving batches of the new Oxford University and AstraZeneca vaccine, with 530,000 doses available for roll-out from Monday.

Following a change of strategy, the second dose of both the Oxford and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines will be given 12 weeks after the first jab rather than 3 weeks as initially planned, in an attempt to ensure as many people as possible in at-risk groups are vaccinated.