The UK recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases in one day for the first time in six months, as the British government's top medical adviser warned that the number of people hospitalised with Covid-19 could hit "quite scary" levels within weeks.
Government figures showed another 51,870 confirmed lab cases, the highest number since mid-January. Infections have surged in recent weeks, mainly among unvaccinated younger people, as a result of the far more contagious delta variant and the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Despite the increase, the British government plans to lift all remaining legal restrictions on social contact in England on Monday and to ditch social distancing guidelines, as well as the legal requirement for people to wear masks in most indoor settings, including shops, trains, buses and subways.
The government is hoping that the rapid rollout of vaccines will keep a lid on the number of people becoming seriously ill with Covid-19 — a stance that some leading scientists at an emergency international summit critiqued as "reckless".