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UK cases down 12.7% on the week before but deaths up 12.6%;
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Russia reports 1,163 new Covid deaths
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The UK recorded 43,467 new Covid cases on Friday and 186 coronavirus-related deaths, data showed. It marks a slight increase from Thursday, when there were 39,842 cases and 165 deaths.
On a seven-day basis, cases were down 12.7% on the week before, while deaths, which typically lag cases, were up 12.6%.
England’s Covid weekly reproduction R number was estimated to have risen to between 1.1 and 1.3, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday, and the epidemic is estimated to be growing.
An R number between 1.1 and 1.3 means that for every 10 people infected, they will on average infect between 11 and 13 other people. Last week R was estimated between 1.0 and 1.2.
The daily growth of infections was estimated between +1% and +3%, unchanged from the previous week.
One in 50 people in England had Covid last week
The prevalence of Covid infections in England increased to about one in 50 people in the week ending 22 October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It means the prevalence of the virus has reached its highest level since the start of the year.
The ONS said that prevalence of infections had risen for its fifth straight week, having been at one in 55 people in the previous week. Prevalence was last at one in 50 people in the week ending January 2.
Russia says at least 44,265 people died from Covid in September.
At least 44,265 people died in Russia in September due to the coronavirus and related causes, taking the toll to about 462,000 since the pandemic began, state statistics service Rosstat said today.
The figure was down from a peak of 51,044 in July, although infections and fatalities began to surge again in the second half of September and have repeatedly touched record levels this month, leading authorities to reintroduce stricter health restrictions, Reuters news agency reported.
The overall Covid-19 death toll reported by Rosstat is almost double the figure of 236,220 published by the Russian coronavirus task force earlier on Friday.
Authorities explain the discrepancy by the fact that the task force reports deaths from Covid-19 on a daily basis that do not need additional confirmation from medical examiners, whereas Rosstat publishes full data on a monthly basis. Some epidemiologists say that measuring excess mortality is the best way to assess the death toll during a pandemic, according to Reuters.