Another 8,125 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours – the highest daily figure since late February.

The latest government data is a jump from the 7,393 cases on Thursday and 6,238 last Friday.

Figures show there were also 17 deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive test.

Meanwhile, 201,607 more people have received their first dose of a vaccine while 308,038 received their second jab.

The UK has one of the most successful vaccination rollouts in the world.

As of Friday, 41 million people have had a first dose and nearly 30 million people have had a second dose.

This week saw all over 25s invited to book an appointment.

But despite vast swathes of the population being vaccinated, there are fears the Indian variant could derail the success if we exit lockdown too soon.

This week Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London, warned that there was a risk of ‘a substantial third wave’ of coronavirus infections.

He told a media briefing today that data compiled by a SPI-M, which is a subgroup of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) suggests we are facing a third wave.

Boris Johnson is due to make a decision on Monday on whether England can go ahead with full reopening on June 21.

Reports have suggested he may take a mix and match approach, allowing big weddings to go ahead but forcing night clubs to stay shut.

Asked if delaying the road map date would make a difference, Prof Ferguson said: ‘Yes, because it allows more people to get second doses.’

He said efficacy for the second dose against the variant first identified in India was higher than after one dose.

He said any third wave of cases ‘will translate, by definition, into some number of hospitalisations and deaths’ but added that it is ‘harder to pin down quite how significant the latter will be at the current time’.

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