The seven-day rate of new cases of Covid-19 in the UK has risen above 20 cases per 100,000 people — the level at which the Government considers imposing quarantine rules on foreign countries.
In the seven days to September 7 the rate stood at 21.3 cases per 100,000, up from 13.9 in the previous week (the seven days to August 31).
A rate of 20 cases per 100,000 or above, if reported in other countries, is the level at which the Government considers imposing quarantine conditions on people travelling to the UK.
Nearly 6,000 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the UK in the 48 hours to 9am on Monday, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Some 2,988 cases were reported in the 24 hours to 9am Sunday while a further 2,948 were reported in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday.
It came as five more people were confirmed to have died in UK hospitals after contracting coronavirus.
There were four deaths in England, one in Northern Ireland, and none in Scotland and Wales.
All of the deaths in England were in the North West, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in the country to 29,611.
Patients were aged between 76 and 95 years old and all of them had known underlying health conditions, Public Health England said.
