Britain suffers 573 hospital deaths the highest Sunday figure in SEVEN MONTHS

Britain has announced a further 573 people have died with Covid-19 in hospital today – the highest figure seen on a Sunday in seven months.

Today’s figure for the past 24 hours is higher than last week when 454 people died.

It’s below yesterday’s toll, when 1,035 deaths were recorded.

Figures released this afternoon show England reported 508 deaths, while there three in Scotland, 45 in Wales and 17 in Northern Ireland.

Today’s figures come at the end of the first week of England’s third national lockdown – amid warnings from Government that as many as one in 50 people have the virus. 

Earlier today Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed the Covid-19 jab could become an annual vaccination – like the flu. It comes as Britain recorded 573 deaths in hospital from Covid 

But as the NHS vaccination roll-out continues, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned it is ‘highly likely,’ people will be vaccinated against Covid annually, as with the flu.

He told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: ‘I think it’s highly likely that there will be a dual-vaccination programme for the foreseeable, this is the medium-term, of flu and Covid.’

He added: ‘Flu vaccination rates are at their highest level ever. Over 80 per cent of the over-65s have been vaccinated for flu this year. That’s the biggest increase, a jump on last year when it was around 70 per cent.

‘That’s very good news. It’s good news for two reasons. Firstly, to protect people against flu and secondly because it shows the vast, vast majority of over-65s are up for getting vaccinated.’

Earlier today it was revealed three boroughs in and around London have become the UK’s Covid hot-spots for infection rates – with as many as 1 in 15 people having had the virus in one area alone.

London’s Barking and Dagenham, the neighbouring borough of Redbridge, and the commuter area of Thurrock, in Essex, are all in the grips of a serious outbreak of the new mutant Covid strain, figures reveal.

Today’s death toll comes after Britain recorded 59,937 cases of Covid-19 on Saturday

Eye-opening data shows that Barking and Dagenham is the country’s worst hit area for infection rates, with 1,708 cases per 100,000 people.

Redbridge is the second worst hit area it terms of infection rate, with 1,571 cases per 100,000 people, while Thurrock is third on the list with a rate of 1,566 cases per 100,000, according to the Government’s latest figures.

It comes as separate data from the Office of National Statistics’ infection survey – which is taken from private households only – shows around 1 in 15 people in the Redbridge borough have had Covid in the last week. 

More to follow.