Coronavirus UK: Number of cases rises to 798 in biggest single-day surge

Risk level to UK is now ‘high’, government says as it announces cases are up 35%

The number of confirmed UK coronavirus cases has risen to 798, the government has said.

More than 200 people have been tested positive in a day, according to official figures. That jump, up 35 per cent in a day, is by far the biggest rise in cases of Covid-19 in one day.

One week ago, on 6 March, the total number of cases stood at 163.

Today's total of 798 is almost five times greater than the equivalent figure one week ago.

In total, 32,771 people have been tested for the disease, the Department of Health said. The relatively low number of people being tested for coronavirus has been criticised, but NHS England has committed to increase those numbers rapidly.

It comes after the government said that up to 10,000 people could already be infected with the disease.

Official figures still show that 11 people have died after testing positive for the disease, after Scotland recorded its first death from the illness.

The government also said that the risk level to the UK has been raised to "high", as indicated by England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty during a press conference.

The rise came as the UK's chief scientific adviser said it is hoped the Government's approach to tackling coronavirus will create a "herd immunity" to the disease.

Sir Patrick Vallance said some of the social distancing measures put in place by the Government, including self-isolating for seven days if symptoms develop, are "actually quite extreme".

His comments come after former health secretary Jeremy Hunt questioned the Government's decision not to cancel large gatherings after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned many more families would "lose loved ones before their time".

Sir Patrick told the BBC that the advice the Government is following is not looking to "suppress" the disease entirely but to help create a "herd immunity in the UK" while protecting the most vulnerable from it.

Asked if there is a fear that clamping down too hard on its spread could see it return, Sir Patrick said: "That is exactly the risk you would expect from previous epidemics.

"If you suppress something very, very hard, when you release those measures it bounces back and it bounces back at the wrong time.

"Our aim is to try and reduce the peak, broaden the peak, not suppress it completely; also, because the vast majority of people get a mild illness, to build up some kind of herd immunity so more people are immune to this disease and we reduce the transmission, at the same time we protect those who are most vulnerable to it.

"Those are the key things we need to do."

Mr Hunt, chairman of the House of Commons Health select committee, was asked on BBC Newsnight what he thought about the decision not to cancel large gatherings, and he said: "I think it is surprising and concerning that we're not doing any of it at all when we have just four weeks before we get to the stage that Italy is at.

"You would have thought that every single thing we do in that four weeks would be designed to slow the spread of people catching the virus."

Mr Hunt said the UK is in a "national emergency" and that many people "will be surprised and concerned" that the UK is not moving sooner.

Additional reporting by agencies