There has been a sharp rise in new coronavirus cases in the UK over the past few days - with around 2,500 to 3,000 recorded every 24 hours.
The daily death rate has remained low at around half a dozen. But that jumped to 30 on Tuesday.
Matt Hancock said in a statement in the Commons the shift can be attributed to young people contracting the disease. They are less likely to die.
There are fears the virus can be transmitted to older, more vulnerable people.
The Health Secretary imposed further restrictions on Bolton after comparing action taken in Spain and France, where health chiefs have also seen a considerable rise in cases among the younger population.
Here we take a look at the latest coronavirus figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
As of September 9, 2,443,938 cases have been reported in the EU/EEA and the UK, along with 183,306 deaths.
The highest death toll is in the UK with 41,586 Covid-19 related deaths, however the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that there have been more than 57,000.
The 14-day cumulative number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 in the UK is 37.2 and for deaths it is 0.2.
As of 9am on Tuesday, the total number of cases in the region is 352,560.
Currently, Spain has the highest number of cases with 534,513, and the highest rate of infection at a staggering 259.8.
France has the third highest number of cases, along with the third highest death toll.
At the other end of the scale, eastern Europe has lower rates of infection with much smaller figures for deaths related to Covid-19.
Below is a table of how the UK's coronavirus situation compares to infection rates and deaths in neighbouring countries in Europe, according to ECDC.
| EU/EEA and the UK | Sum of Cases | Sum of Deaths | 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100 000 | 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths per 100 000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 534,513 | 29,594 | 259.8 | 1.4 |
| United Kingdom | 352,560 | 41,586 | 37.2 | 0.2 |
| France | 335,524 | 30,764 | 130.4 | 0.3 |
| Italy | 280,153 | 35,563 | 31.4 | 0.2 |
| Germany | 253,474 | 9,338 | 20.5 | 0.1 |
| Romania | 97,033 | 3,967 | 85.7 | 3.1 |
| Belgium | 89,047 | 9,912 | 49.2 | 0.4 |
| Sweden | 85,707 | 5,838 | 24.5 | 0.1 |
| Netherlands | 76,475 | 6,235 | 52.1 | 0.2 |
| Poland | 71,526 | 2,136 | 22.3 | 0.4 |
| Portugal | 60,895 | 1,846 | 48.5 | 0.4 |
| Austria | 30,200 | 747 | 49.2 | 0.2 |
| Ireland | 30,080 | 1,778 | 38.3 | 0.0 |
| Czechia | 29,877 | 441 | 68.8 | 0.2 |
| Denmark | 18,356 | 628 | 32.3 | 0.1 |
| Bulgaria | 17,313 | 692 | 24.6 | 1.7 |
| Croatia | 12,285 | 203 | 92.1 | 0.7 |
| Greece | 11,832 | 290 | 26.5 | 0.4 |
| Norway | 11,519 | 264 | 21.1 | 0.0 |
| Hungary | 9,304 | 626 | 41.8 | 0.1 |
| Finland | 8,337 | 336 | 6.5 | 0.0 |
| Luxembourg | 6,974 | 124 | -140.7 | 0.0 |
| Slovakia | 4,727 | 37 | 23.4 | 0.1 |
| Slovenia | 3,232 | 130 | 26.2 | 0.1 |
| Lithuania | 3,131 | 86 | 15.6 | 0.0 |
| Estonia | 2,564 | 64 | 20.4 | 0.0 |
| Iceland | 2,150 | 10 | 20.4 | 0.0 |
| Malta | 2,099 | 14 | 79.8 | 0.8 |
| Cyprus | 1,511 | 21 | 4.2 | 0.0 |
| Latvia | 1,432 | 35 | 4.7 | 0.1 |
| Liechtenstein | 108 | 1 | 18.2 | 0.0 |
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