A further 1,182 new coronavirus cases were confirmed today, the second highest number of Covid-19 infections in the UK for two months.
Daily Government coronavirus data reveals that the new infections reported on Thursday were only topped by figures on August 14 - when 1,441 people were infected - over a period stretching back to June 21, when 1,221 cases were reported.
New coronavirus cases have generally been creeping up recently since a lower period in July, with more than 1,000 new infections reported on nine out of 12 days since August 9, Government figures show.
Before that there was a period of six weeks, stretching back to late June, when new cases did not top 1,000. New infection numbers went as low as 352 on July 6.
Overall, 322,280 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the UK since the start of the outbreak, the Government said on Thursday.
It comes as six more people died of the virus in the UK in hospitals, care homes and the wider community.
The Government said 41,403 people had died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of 5pm on Wednesday.
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Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have now been 57,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
The UK's regional authorities published figures earlier in the day showing a further five people had died in UK hospitals, including a 33-year-old with no underlying health conditions.
The new deaths, which were all in England, take the UK's coronavirus death toll in hospitals to 34,124.
