THE RATE OF Covid-19 infections across the UK has almost doubled in a week.

The UK-wide seven-day rate currently stands at 125.7 cases per 100,000 people, up from 63.8 per 100,000 a week ago, analysis by the PA news agency shows.

When it comes to daily figures, as of 9am this morning, there were 14,542 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

These have trebled in a fortnight – on September 22, there were 4,926 cases recorded.

The Government said a further 76 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of today.

More than 58,000 deaths involving Covid-19 have now been registered in the UK.

There were 478 people admitted to hospital in England with Covid-19 on Sunday, the highest daily total in four months, and up from 241 a week earlier.

There were 2,783 patients in hospital with Covid-19 today, an increase from 1,881 a week earlier, and 349 on ventilators, compared with 259 seven days ago.

The figures come amid rising cases across parts of England, with the latest weekly infection figures showing that Manchester’s rate has soared, with 3,105 new cases recorded in the seven days to October 3 – the equivalent of 561.6 cases per 100,000 people.

Health officials are also expecting Nottingham to be placed in lockdown after a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The city’s infection rate has risen dramatically, with 1,465 new cases recorded in the seven days to October 3 – the equivalent of 440.1 cases per 100,000 people.

This is up from 71.2 per 100,000 in the seven days to September 26 – a week that saw 237 new cases.

The director of public health for Nottingham, Alison Challenger, said current restrictions in the city “are no longer enough to stop the spread of the virus”.

Other areas with high rates are Knowsley and Liverpool, while Newcastle upon Tyne, Sheffield and Leeds have recorded large jumps in their infection rate over the last seven days.

New system

The UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggested he could soon unveil a three-tier lockdown system to replace current restrictions, which critics say lead to confusion.

Earlier, Professor Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London, said further restrictions may be needed across England, including closing bars and restaurants.

He said stricter measures to reduce contact between households could be needed to keep coronavirus under control while schools and universities remain open.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said an “extended half-term” or closing hospitality venues could be options.

He said: “So we are in a more difficult position, if we want to keep schools open we have to reduce contacts in other areas of society by more.

“You will have heard measures being discussed across society as a whole, such as extended half-terms, where we try to reduce transmission for a concerted period.

“I think those measures should be considered.”

Ferguson, whose modelling led to the original nationwide lockdown, also said that contact tracing data showed that attending bars and restaurants was a risk factor in contracting the virus.