Britain's COVID-19 cases up 72% in past week

Britain reported 27,989 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed on Thursday, the highest number since Jan. 25 and taking the rise in cases between June 25 and July 1 to nearly 72% compared with the previous seven days.

A further 22 people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19, taking the seven-day rise to just under 11%.

A total of 44.9 million people had received a first dose of a vaccine against coronavirus by June 30 and 33.0 million people had received a second dose. (Writing by William Schomberg; editing by William James)