The number of Covid deaths is up by 50 per cent in the UK, according to the latest week-on-week data.
There have been 213 deaths reported in the last seven days - up by 71 from the seven days before that.
The new figures came as Boris Johnson was accused of throwing clinically vulnerable people “to the wolves” with his plan to lift England’s coronavirus curbs on 19 July.
People at serious risk of infection who were previously shielding will be endangered by the end of mandatory face mask-wearing, one MP said.
The PM urged people to continue to observe practices like mask-wearing and social distancing, and admitted the pandemic was not over.
But in Scotland, mask-wearing will remain mandatory in some places even as other restrictions are eased, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
