Doncaster Covid cases almost double in a week as Delta variant rises four-fold in less than a month in UK

The news comes as UK cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19 have risen almost four-fold in less than a month.

In Doncaster Public Health England figures reveal 25,523 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, by Thursday July 1 , up from 25,378 on Wednesday.

The daily number of new people who tested positive for Covid 19 reported on Thursday July 1 in Doncaster was 145.

Doncaster has had 476 new cases in the week up to June 27, a rate of 152.6 per 100,000 compared to 273 new cases and a rate of 87.5 the previous week.

More than 250 further cases of the Delta variant of coronavirus have been recorded in Doncaster, new figures reveal.

The UK Health Security Agency is urging all those eligible to get a vaccine to break the chain of transmission.

Public Health England figures show 660 cases of the Delta variant – first identified in India – had been recorded in Doncaster by June 30.

That was 264 more than the 396 cases recorded the week before.

Those identified in the latest week were among at least 16,448 cases of the variant recorded across Yorkshire and The Humber – the third-worst affected of England's nine regions.

The North West continued to have the highest numbers identified, with 55,936 Delta variant cases recorded there.

The news comes as Public Health England figures show a total of 161,981 confirmed and probable cases of Delta variant have now been identified in the UK – up by 50,824, or 46%, on the previous week.

Of these, 42 are the so-called Delta plus variant, which India’s health ministry has said spreads more easily, binds more easily to lung cells and is potentially resistant to some drug therapy which can help neutralise the virus.

Three weeks ago, a total of 42,323 cases of the Delta variant had been identified in the UK, meaning the number has now increased almost four-fold.

But while the Delta variant now accounts for around 95% of new cases sequenced in the UK, the number of people being hospitalised with the infection is not rising proportionally.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: "The data suggest this is testament to the success of the vaccination programme so far and clearly demonstrates the importance of getting both doses of the vaccine.

"Come forward as soon as you are eligible. It will help us to break the chain of transmission, and it will save lives."

She added that the best thing people could do to protect themselves and loved ones from Covid-19 was to get the vaccine, if eligible, and get tested twice a week.

"Practice ‘hands, face, space, fresh air’ at all times," she said.

Of the 161,981 cases of the Delta variant recorded across the UK, 148,538 have been identified in England, 10,185 in Scotland, 1,749 in Wales and 1,509 in Northern Ireland.

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