UK records 10 Covid deaths as almost 10 million people get second vaccine dose

A health worker draws a heart on the National Covid Memorial Wall on the Embankment

(PA)

The UK recorded 10 new coronavirus deaths and 1,882 cases on Sunday.

Almost 10 million people are fully vaccinated, with 9,930,846 receiving their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

A total of 32,849,223 people have so far received their first dose.

Last Sunday there were only seven deaths reported and slightly fewer cases at 1,730.

Over the last week there have been 183 deaths - a decrease of 27.1 per cent compared to the week before.

It came as calls grew for India to be added to the Government’s “red list” after a new variant was discovered there.

Investigations are currently underway to determine whether the mutation could evade vaccines.

The Environment Secretary George Eustice told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that travellers from India were already subject to stringent checks before entering Britain.

“Well, we’re allowing people in from India provided they have had a pre-departure test, provided they then quarantine – albeit not in a hotel or a designated facility, but quarantine at home – and then have a test at two and eight days,” he said.

“So there are quite a lot of robust tests and checks for anybody coming into the country.

“But, look, we keep this under regular review. We take the advice of the scientific experts on this. If the advice is we should change that and move to the red list we would.”

It comes as new modelling suggests that the USA, Gibraltar, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Malta are the only countries that will be on the government’s “green list” when non-essential international travel restarts again next month.

It was also revealed that a “huge” backlog of patient care caused by Covid-19 could take up to five years to clear, NHS Providers have said.

According to recent data from NHS England, 4.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February – the highest figure since records began in August 2007.

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