Covid cases across the UK have risen by 32,406 with a further 133 lives lost to the virus in the last 24 hours.
That is a week on week rise in fatalities of 27 percent and is the eleventh day in a row of more than 30,000 infections.
Last Saturday saw 31,783 cases and 104 deaths.
Today saw an almost two percent rise in cases on this time last week.
Yesterday, there were 38,046 new cases and 100 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
It comes after reports Covid cases had risen in all four nations of Britain, with one in 70 people in England now infected.
A weekly survey from the Office for National Statistics released yesterday estimates 756,900 people in England's community population had the virus at any time in the week to August 20.
That was up from an estimated 698,100 people, or 1 in 80, in the week to August 14.
It comes as revellers head to festivals and families prepare to enjoy the bank holiday weekend. Music-lovers are being urged to test for Covid-19 before they go and when they return, and not to visit older or more vulnerable loved ones in the days after events in a bid to avoid spreading the virus.
Meanwhile, other research from Friday showed vaccinating teenagers and introducing Covid passports has seen European nations overtaking the UK in the coronavirus jabs race.
Some EU countries have said people must prove they are double-vaccinated before entering certain hospitality venues.
In contrast, British leaders are reluctant to ban unvaccinated people from venues – and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is yet to issue its recommendation on whether under 16s should be jabbed.
As of August 26, the UK has given 47,915,768 first vaccinations and 42,379,353 second doses.
A new study has found the Delta variant doubles the risk of someone infected with Covid needing hospital treatment compared to the Alpha strain.
Researchers looked at more than 43,000 cases in England between March and May with their findings published in medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Nearly three-quarters of coronavirus cases in the study were in people who were unvaccinated, with 1.8 per cent coming in those who had received both inoculations.
The study said around one in 50 patients were admitted to hospital within two weeks of their first positive test.
This equates to 2.3 per cent of Delta cases and 2.2 per cent of those with the Alpha variant, first identified in Kent.
