A Covid Mobile Testing Unit in Glasgow, Scotland. Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images
The United Kingdom reported 16,703 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest daily case count since early February, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: Thursday's high means the U.K. marked two peaks in new infections within a span of a week. On June 17, the kingdom hit a four-month high with 11,007 new daily cases.
- The surge comes even as nearly 83% of people in the U.K. have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 60.6% have received two doses, according to government data.
The big picture: In the past week, government data shows that the U.K. reported more than 85,000 new COVID-19 cases, marking a 44% increase over the week before.
- On Thursday, the kingdom reported 21 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, an increase from Wednesday, when the figure was 19, per Reuters.
The state of play: COVID-19 cases across the U.K. are rising in spite of its successful vaccination campaign, amid the spread of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant.
- On June 14, Prime Minister Boris Johnson delayed the U.K.'s lifting of pandemic public health restrictions amidst the surge.