UK records 2,988 new Covid-19 cases, highest daily number since May

A further 2,988 people tested positive for the coronavirus over the last 24 hours in the United Kingdom, the highest number of daily infections since May 22, when 3,287 cases were confirmed, the Department of Health and Social Care announced on Sunday.

The government's COVID-19 dashboard shows that the total number of positive cases now stands at 347,152, while the country's death toll has risen by two to 41,551.

Sunday's official report triggered the alarm within political circles in the UK, with Health Minister Matt Hancock admitting that "the rise in the number of cases that we have seen today is concerning."

Hancock said, however, that most of the new cases had been detected among younger people, so he called on them not to allow the virus to infect their grandparents.

"I understand why people are concerned about figures like this because all workplaces are COVID-secured after a huge amount of work to make sure they are. The same goes for schools. The rise is predominantly amongst younger people," the minister told reporters on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Hancock's shadow counterpart, Jonathan Ashworth, also voiced his concern about the jump in the number of new cases and said that Hancock owned the parliament an explanation.

"Deeply concerning increase in cases and a stark reminder, there is no room for complacency in suppressing COVID. Combined with ongoing testing fiasco with ill people told to drive for miles, Matt Hancock must come to Commons tomorrow to explain approach," Ashworth wrote on Twitter.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also took to the social platform to urge Londoners to follow the rules to keep safe and said the government must also get a grip on the test and trace program to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.