London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Covid: UK cases top 50,000 for first time in three months

Covid: UK cases top 50,000 for first time in three months

More than 50,000 Covid cases have been recorded in the UK for the first time since 17 July.

Amid calls for more restrictions, Boris Johnson urged people to come forward for booster jabs when their time comes.

The prime minister said those who become eligible for a third dose of vaccine should organise an appointment straight away.

The UK recorded 52,009 new Covid cases on Thursday - alongside 115 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

Mr Johnson said, despite high cases, the government was "continuing with its plan" and that things were much better now than a year ago.

He said that was in large part thanks to the rollout of the vaccine, which has weakened the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

Reported cases on 17 July were 54,674 and came several weeks after more households could mix together and indoor hospitality resumed.

Doctors are demanding ministers trigger England's "Plan B" - which would reimpose rules such as mandatory face masks and working from home advice.
Speaking in Northern Ireland, Mr Johnson said that the numbers of infections and deaths being seen were "within the parameters of what the predictions were... given the steps we've taken".

It was also because the country was in an "incomparably better position than last year because of vaccines" that there was more confidence around the current plan in place," he said.

He also insisted that the "most important thing people can do is get that booster jab" and that "when you get the call, get the jab".

The PM appealed for 12 to 15-years-old to get their first vaccination because there was "no shortage of supply" and there were "huge quantities" of vaccine available.

An estimated 4.7 million booster doses - which come at least six months after second jabs - have now been delivered in the UK.



Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said ministers were letting the "security wall against the virus... crumble" and the booster programme was "stalling".

But Prof Jeremy Brown, an adviser to the government on vaccines, said Sir Keir's criticism was "not an accurate description of what's going on".

"The problem at the moment [is] the people coming to hospital with severe Covid and ending up in intensive care and dying are those who've not had any vaccines," he told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.

Under the government's plan for tackling Covid in England over the winter, the strategy currently in operation is Plan A.

It involves offering booster jabs to about 30 million people and offering a single vaccine dose to healthy 12 to 15-year-olds, as well as encouraging ventilation for indoor gatherings, hand-washing and face masks in crowded places.

Daily UK infections have been above 40,000 for nine days in a row.

What's in the daily stats?

Analysis by BBC health reporter Philippa Roxby

Daily cases of coronavirus in the UK continue to rise - now going past 50,000 - and hospital admissions are rising closer to 1,000 a day, but daily deaths have fallen slightly.

Cases last went above 50,000 in mid-July and then fell steeply without any further restrictions being introduced.

It's possible that could happen again now, but that's reliant on several things happening.

The current strategy is to speed up vaccinations - in the form of boosters to the most vulnerable, and first doses to young teens and the five million unvaccinated - to increase protection among the population.

Free testing is also part of that plan, and one reason why the UK has one of the highest Covid rates in Europe.

In 10-19 year olds, these have reached a record high and there are concerns that infections could leak into other age groups.

A change in people's behaviour now could bring cases down and reduce growing pressure on the NHS ahead of winter.

Scientists say it's difficult to predict what could happen over the next few weeks - but the UK is in a very different place to last autumn, when the Covid vaccination programme hadn't even started yet.

Case rates are rising in all but one region of England, the UK Health Security Agency said, with the lowest rates in London.

Rates of Covid were highest in those aged 10 to 19-years-old, with the lowest seen in those over 80.

There were 8,142 patients with Covid in hospital as of Wednesday, the latest data showed, with 872 patients with Covid in beds equipped with ventilators.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the doctors' union the British Medical Association, said it can "categorically" say that the "time is now" for starting Plan B.

He stressed that case numbers were comparable to March, when England was in lockdown, and were "unheard of in similar European nations".

"It is therefore incredibly concerning that [Mr Javid] is not willing to take immediate action to save lives and to protect the NHS," he said.

Who will get a booster?


Across the UK, booster jabs are being offered to:

* Over-50s

* Frontline health and social care workers

* Older adults in residential care homes

* People aged 16-49 years old with underlying health conditions which put them at greater risk of severe Covid

* Adults who share a household with vulnerable people

The dose must be given at least six months after a second vaccination, and will typically be either Pfizer or Moderna.

But Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Wednesday that "at this point" the government would not introduce its Plan B measures.

However, he also warned insufficient vaccine uptake would make restrictions in England more likely.

And he said infections could soon rise to around 100,000 per day.

In other developments:

* Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust declares a critical incident due to pressures it is facing

* The PM's official spokesman says reports that a harsher so-called Plan C for England is in the works are "not accurate"

* Covid has severely affected health care staff and may have killed between 80,000 and 180,000 globally, the World Health Organization says

* Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg suggests Tory MPs do not need to wear masks while debating because they know each other

* Strictly Come Dancing star Judi Love tests positive for coronavirus and will miss this weekend's shows


Boris Johnson on Covid: "We are sticking with our plan."


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×