UK official coronavirus cases soar in highest Monday since April 20 - and deaths up by 11

The UK coronavirus death toll has increased by 11 while new cases are have soared well into the thousands once again, the latest official figures released today show.

Amid dire warnings of a second wave of Covid-19, there has been a further 4,368 new cases of coronavirus reported in the last 24 hours - the highest Monday since April 20.

There has been a total of 398,625 cases of coronavirus in the UK as of today.

The official death toll across all settings is now at 41,788 in the latest figures from the Department of Health today. This includes hospitals, care homes and the community.

Last Monday, September 14, the death toll increased by nine - while cases rose by 2,621.

The previous Monday - September 7 - three new deaths were recorded, with 2,948 people testing positive.

A steady increase in infections prompted the government to ban gatherings of more than six people in England - with the new new 'rule of six' measure coming into force a week ago today.

Yesterday, the death toll increased by 18 as cases rose by 3,899.

On Saturday, the death toll was 27 and new cases soared by 4,422 - the highest number of daily coronavirus cases recorded since May 8 and the highest daily death count since August 8, when 55 UK deaths by coronavirus were reported.

Friday's death toll was also 27 and some 4,322 new infections were recorded, compared with 3,539 the previous Friday - the biggest single-day jump in infections since May 8, when 4,649 were reported.

Across the four home nations, England is by far the worst affected for deaths caused by Covid-19, with, 9 of today's 11 deaths occurring there. Northern Ireland reported 2 ne deaths in the past 24 hours.

England has now seen 37,103 deaths - according to the official statistics - while Scotland has suffered 2,505, Wales 1,603 and Northern Ireland 577.

Earlier today, the death toll in hospital settings only increased by 12 - the highest total on a Monday since mid-July.

Statistics in hospitals use a different time frame, hence the difference between the two death tolls.

The official death toll counts people who had had a positive test result for Covid-19 and died within 28 days of the first positive test.

But the actual cause of death may not be coronavirus in all cases.

England reported 10 new deaths and Northern Ireland had two, bringing Britain's hospital total to 34,442. Scotland and Wales reported no new fatalities.

It is the highest increase in hospital deaths on a Monday since 12 deaths were announced on July 13.

Totals on Monday tend to be lower due to a weekend reporting lag.

By comparison, three hospital deaths were reported on September 14, five on September 7, four on both August 31 and August 24, and two on August 17, the lowest total on a Monday since the lockdown began in March.

The most hospital deaths announced on a Monday was 697 on April 13, when the UK was in the initial peak of its outbreak.

Meanwhile, the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England is the highest it has been since the end of June, figures show.

The latest Government data reveals 205 people with Covid-19 were admitted on Friday - the most since June 27, when the figure was 209.

It brings the total number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England up to 116,050.

The data, published on Sunday, includes people admitted to hospital in England who tested positive for Covid-19 in the 14 days prior to admission, and those who tested positive in hospital after admission.

Inpatients diagnosed with Covid-19 after admission are reported as being admitted on the day prior to their diagnosis.

The data, from the Government's coronavirus dashboard, also shows there were 142 Covid-19 patients in mechanical ventilation beds in England on Sunday.

It is the highest the figure has been since July 11, when it was 152.

There were 1,141 confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospitals in England on Sunday, the highest number since July 22 when there were 1,210.

The highest number of confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospital on Sunday was in the North West at 355, the highest level since July 22 when it was 370.

This was followed by 241 in both the Midlands and North East and Yorkshire, and 167 in London.

The areas with the fewest coronavirus patients in hospital were the East of England with 37, then 76 in the South East.

The figures show the number of confirmed coronavirus cases at midnight the preceding night at NHS hospital acute trusts with major accident and emergency departments in England.

The data also shows there were no new Covid-19 hospital admissions in Northern Ireland on Saturday, while Scotland had recorded three new coronavirus admissions to hospital on September 7 and Wales recorded 41 admissions on Friday.

However, the Welsh data includes confirmed and suspected cases and is not comparable with the other nations

The latest figures were announced amid a dire warning that the UK could face 50,000 new cases a day by mid-October and 200 deaths a day in November if the current rate of infection is not halted.

As the number of cases doubles every week, tighter measures to curb the spread of the virus could be announced by Prime Minister  Boris Johnson  on Tuesday.

Separate households could be banned from socialising, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock has not ruled out England's pubs being closed this weekend as cases dramatically spiral across the UK.

NHS England reported 10 new deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities in hospitals in England to 29,757. The patients were aged between 44 and 95, and all had known underlying health conditions.

Two more Covid-19 linked deaths were reported in Northern Ireland over the weekend, the Department of Health has said.

The death toll in the region recorded by the department now stands at 577.

There were also a further 125 new confirmed cases of the virus in Northern Ireland in the last 24-hour reporting period.

Scotland reported 255 new confirmed cases - taking its total to 24,626 - as its death toll remained at 2,505.

Wales' toll stands at 1,603 after no new deaths were reported. The number of cases increased by 234 to 20,878, the largest daily rise since April 22.