Britain reported 12,872 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, a record daily figure for the country, with the government blaming the jump on a reporting delay and saying the numbers in coming days would include additional cases.
The government’s website said a technical issue had delayed publishing a number of new COVID-19 cases.
“This means the total reported over the coming days will include some additional cases from the period between 24 September and 1 October, increasing the number of cases reported,” it said.
At 12,872, the number of daily cases reported almost doubled from the 6,968 reported on Friday, smashing the previous biggest daily toll of 7,143, which was recorded on Tuesday.
Britain is now processing more than 200,000 COVID-19 tests a day compared with fewer than 100,000 at the start of the pandemic.
But the technical issue could be seized on by critics who say the government has lost control of the virus amid a shortage of testing capacity.
The number of deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test fell to 49 on Saturday from 66 the previous day.
French coronavirus cases reach record level with nearly 17,000 new infections
France reported nearly 17,000 new confirmed coronavirus infections on Saturday, about 5,000 more than on the previous day, setting a new daily record.
The number of infections rose by 16,972 to a total of 606,625 cases, the health ministry said, more than the previous record of 16,096 registered last week.
The number of deaths increased by 49 to 32,198.
There were 4,087 new cases of people being hospitalised over the last seven days, including 849 in intensive care units. The figures are relatively stable compared with the previous report on Friday. The rate of positive coronavirus tests in France rose to 7.9% from 7.7% on Friday.
(Reuters)
Pictured: A man wearing a face mask stands next to a banner, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Middleborough, Britain October 2, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith
