The UK has reported 1,325 more coronavirus deaths, its highest daily total since the pandemic began, as a new TV campaign fronted by Professor Chris Whitty urges people in England to stay home.
The new death figures surpassed the previous record of 1,224 set in April and fuelled fears the current lockdown is not working.
Meanwhile, new adverts in England emphasise the risk posed by the new strain of the disease and how stretched hospitals are becoming, while driving home the country’s “stay at home” message.
It comes as London mayor Sadiq Khan declared a “major incident” in the capital, as one in 20 people now have Covid-19 in some parts of the city.
The mayor told LBC one in 30 people in London on average have the virus, “but in some parts of London one out of 20 Londoners now has this virus”.
City Hall said Covid-19 cases in London have exceeded 1,000 per 100,000, while there are 35 per cent more people in hospital with the virus than at the peak of the pandemic in April.
It comes after the UK’s medicines watchdog approved the Moderna vaccine for use, making it the third one given the go ahead after the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs.
