London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

UK second highest in world for new Covid cases as pandemic spreads

UK second highest in world for new Covid cases as pandemic spreads

Britain reported more new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday than any other country in the world except for America, the Standard can reveal.

The UK has been at or near the top of the global league for new infections for several days now following a steep rise in cases as a third wave sweeps the nation.

The 44,104 fresh cases detected in Britain over the past 24 hours is greater than that witnessed by almost all countries currently battling the biggest outbreaks of cases, including Indonesia, India, Brazil, Russia and Spain, analysis shows.

It comes as debate continues to rage over Boris Johnson’s decision to relax almost all coronavirus restrictions on so-called ‘Freedom Day’ on July 19.

The government’s handling of the pandemic came under further scrutiny earlier on Wednesday as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer blasted mixed messages from ministers over the need to self-isolate if someone is “pinged” by the NHS test and trace app.

Sir Keir warned the country faces a “summer of chaos” as he highlighted policy changes over isolation exemptions for people pinged by the NHS app and vaccine passports for nightclubs.

Britain’s rising Covid cases is also having a major impact on international travel with several countries imposing new restrictions on travellers from the UK.

The latest is Croatia, which announced on Wednesday that obligatory Covid-19 tests would be imposed for visitors coming from Britain, as well as Russia and Cyprus, from July 26.


Currently topping the international table of new cases is the United States, which suffered a disastrous third wave of coronavirus over the winter, with new cases peaking at more than 300,000 on January 8.

It had successfully driven cases down to as low as 3,491 on July 4 amid a relatively successful rolling of vaccines.

But the country now stands on the cusp of a deadly fourth wave with new cases jumping to 61,965 on Tuesday, with the highly-infectious Delta variant now accounting for 83 per cent of cases.

The next worst-hit country after the UK in terms of Covid cases on Wednesday was India, which posted 42,015 new infections. It also posted its highest number of Covid deaths in nearly a month - at nearly 4,000 - after Maharashtra added 3,509 previously unreported fatalities.

The sudden appearance of previously unrecorded deaths has lent weight to suspicion that India’s overall death tally is significantly more than the official figure. India’s tally of infections stands at 31.22 million, with a death toll of 418,480, according to official data.

Birds seen over deserted Jama Masjid on Eid al-Adha following restrictions due to Covid pandemic in New Delhi

But the Washington-based Center for Global Development estimated said in a report on Tuesday that India’s real death toll from COVID-19 could be as high as 4.9 million.

The third highest after the US and the UK is Indonesia, which on Wednesday posted 33,772 new cases, taking the country’s total coronavirus caseload to nearly three million. Indonesia is currently grappling with the worst coronavirus outbreak in Asia and reported a record high 1,383 deaths from Covid-19 on Wednesday, taking its overall death toll to around 77,000.

It comes as the World Health Organisation announced on Wednesday that there were more than 3.4 million new global cases of the coronavirus last week, a 12 per cent increase from the previous week.

However the UN health agency says the number of deaths is continuing to decline, with about 57,000 in the last week.

“At this rate, it is expected that the cumulative number of cases reported globally could exceed 200 million in the next three weeks,” WHO says.

It noted the highest increases in Covid-19 cases were in the Western Pacific and European regions. In the past week, WHO said the highest coronavirus infections were in Indonesia, Britain, Brazil, India and the U.S.

Ten countries with the highest new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, July 21
United States - 61,965
United Kingdom - 44,104
India - 42,015
Indonesia - 33,772
Brazil - 27,592
Iran - 27,444
Spain - 27,288
Russia - 23,704
Argentina - 15,077
Colombia 12,829

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×