THE UK'S daily Covid cases have fallen in the last 24 hours with 24,855 Brits testing positive compared to 27,125 reported yesterday.

Meanwhile deaths have also fallen, with 18 reported compared to27 yesterday.

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Despite this, the number of people testing positive for Covid has still surged by almost 67 per cent in just a week.

This day last week just 18,270 cases were reported.

Another 122,377 people have now gotten their first vaccine, while 160,763 have recieved their second.

In total, 45,135,880 people have had one dose and 33,402,028 are fully vaccinated.

But experts admit the numbers testing positive have now reached an “unsettling” level.

However, in brighter news, the official R rate has dropped slightly.

Sage scientists, who report to the Government, said today the R rate for England was 1.1 to 1.3, and as high as 1.6 in the South West.

Last week Sage said the R rate was between 1.2 and 1.4.

Cases are the highest in people aged 17 to 24, the majority of whom aren’t jabbed.

Around 1.7 per cent of people in that group tested positive in the most recent figures, compared with 0.1 per cent in over 70s.

And cases of the super-infectious Delta – or Indian – mutation have risen by more than 50,000 over the course of the past week.

It comes as Boris Johnson is considering scrapping "bubbles" from schools and putting an end to pupils self-isolating following a positive Covid contact, it has been reported.

The PM is said to be working on a five-point rescue plan to help ease the impact of the pandemic on children amid growing pressure from MPs.

The Daily Telegraph reports details of the leaked eight-page plan which was written by officials in the Cabinet Office's Covid-19 task force.

One of the proposed changes would be to scrap "bubbles" from schools from July 19 – the earliest date England could reopen.

Current rules require children to self-isolate if any of their classmates test positive – leaving parents forced to keep their children at home at short notice.

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