Daily reported cases of Covid-19 top 9,000 for first time since February

The number of new cases of Covid-19 reported each day in the UK has climbed above 9,000 for the first time in nearly four months.

A total of 9,055 cases were reported by the Government on June 16.

This is the highest number since February 25, which was also the last time daily cases topped 9,000.

The seven-day rolling average for reported cases currently stands at 7,888: up 32% from 5,980 a week ago, and the highest since March 1.

The figures reflect the impact of the third wave of cases that is now spreading across the country, which is being driven by the Delta variant of coronavirus that originated in India.

Of the 380 local authority areas in the UK, 60 (16%) are now recording Covid-19 rates greater than 100 cases per 100,000 people.

This is the highest proportion of areas above this level since the beginning of March.

North-west England continues to be the main hotspot of the new wave of cases, accounting for 20 of the top 25 highest local rates in the UK.

The other five are in Scotland.

Blackburn with Darwen remains the local area with the highest rate in the UK, though the latest figures suggest the surge in cases in the town has peaked, with 576.5 cases per 100,000 people recorded in the week to June 12.

This is down slightly from 583.2 in the week to June 5.

Since June 7, the seven-day rate of new cases in Blackburn has dropped on each successive day.

Meanwhile 379 people with Covid-19 were in hospital in north-west England as of 8am on June 16, according to NHS England.

This is up 48% in a week and is the highest number for the region since April 9.

A total of 1,057 patients with Covid-19 are currently in hospital in England, up 21% from a week ago and the highest number since May 4.