Locked-down Britons are being warned to stick to Covid rules

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Britain recorded 7,434 new cases of coronavirus today, 28 per cent less than last week and the lowest since October 2 – as sun lovers ignored warnings to stay at home and flocked to parks and beaches to bask in glorious sunshine and 59F (15C) temperatures.

Deaths were also down by more than a third with 290 recorded, down from 445 last Saturday, bringing the UK total to 122,705. 

Government data up to February 26 shows that more than 19.6 million people have had their first jab of the vaccine – a rise of 504,493 on the previous day. 

With the daily figures continuing to fall and temperatures soaring, Britons were pictured enjoying the rays in parks and beaches despite pleas from police and scientists.  

Police yesterday warned the public that they would be on patrol this weekend to ensure people were still abiding by the restrictions after huge crowds ventured out last week, with Sussex Police tweeting: ‘Don’t stop now.’ 

Deputy chief medical officer for England Professor Jonathan Van-Tam yesterday urged Britons not to ‘relax’ as the UK headed into the warm weekend, warning that ‘this is not a battle that we have won yet’. 

Addressing a Downing Street press briefing on Friday, he told the public ‘do not wreck this now’ as some areas of the UK are ‘burning quite hot’ in terms of coronavirus infections. 

However, those hit by sunny spells gathered on busy beaches and parks to make the most of the sunshine today, with dozens of people seen on the Hove beachfront in East Sussex and in Greenwich Park, south east London. 

The South of England and East of Scotland enjoyed the best of the mild conditions with wall-to-wall sunshine expected until Sunday, and highs of 59F (15C) and 57F (14C) forecast today in London and Aberdeenshire. 

Those in Southampton and Norwich also basked in the best of Britain’s warm weather, with the mercury reaching between 53F (12C) and 57F (14C) widely across the UK – after temperatures dropped as low as -4C overnight. 

Open spaces were also busy with people doing their daily exercise, which is still permitted during the lockdown – before one-plus-one social meetings outside are allowed from March 8 and the rule of six outdoors from March 29.    

England and Wales have enjoyed a very mild week for the time of year, with the warmth on par with Malaga and Barcelona as Suffolk recorded 65.1F (18.4C) on Wednesday – above the average maximum for May.  

Meteorologist Tom Morgan today told MailOnline the UK will experience temperatures well above the average for February throughout the weekend, with highs of 53F (12C) and 57F (14C) expected widely across Britain.

He added the warm weather will end abruptly on Monday, when cold air rising from Scandinavia will bring temperatures back into single figures for much of the UK.

‘It is relatively mild at the moment, we’re still in winter and average temperatures tend to vary from around 9C in the South to 7C in the North. But by daytime today and tomorrow we’ll be seeing highs of 12C and 14C so it should feel relatively warm for the time of year.’

Mr Morgan said it will still feel cold overnight with frosts expected in parts, adding a low of -4.1C was recorded in Benson, Oxfordshire overnight on Friday. 

‘Tomorrow will be the last day of mild conditions before temperatures fall,’ he said. ‘It will potentially get very cold by the end of this week, as cold air rising from Scandinavia bringing temperatures back to single figures for most of the country.’  

The glorious weather expected over the weekend yesterday prompted warnings from several police forces, who urged Britons not to become complacent when following lockdown restrictions.

Sussex Police tweeted: ‘Don’t stop now!’ The force added it was concerned that ‘people may get complacent’ after ‘a long year of restrictions, falling infection rates, the vaccine rollout, better weather and the roadmap out of lockdown earlier this week’. 

West Midlands Police said it was ‘lovely weather for a walk’ and thanked people in a wood for complying with the guidelines, while South Wales Police acknowledged it could be ‘tough’ to follow the rules in good weather.  

Met Office forecaster Aidan McGivern said today will begin with ‘a few mist and fog patches’ for England and Wales before transforming into a ‘beautiful sunny day’, with cloudy patches expected south of Cumbria.

He said: ‘Temperatures reaching 11C to 14C, with warm spots in London and eastern Scotland. 

The mild weather will continue into Sunday, when temperatures will drop slightly to highs of 55F (13C) following a morning of widespread low cloud, mist and fog for those in northern England and southern Scotland. 

‘However, by the afternoon most places will brighten up with long spells of sunshine for many and it’s going to feel pleasant with light winds and temperatures once again widely above average,’ Mr McGivern added. 

‘I think 11C to 13C so perhaps a degree or so lower compared to Saturday.’ 

The warm, southerly airflow bringing the mild weather since the start of last week has also been responsible for dramatic, vivid red sunrises particularly in the East after blowing Saharan dust north from Africa. 

The all-time monthly record temperature of 70.2F (21.2C) was set in London on February 26, 2019. The average UK daily high for February is 43.9F (6.6C), while the same figure for May is 58.6F (14.8C). Meteorological spring officially begins next Monday. 

Ahead of the warm weather, Professor Van-Tam yesterday warned that coronavirus cases are rising in dozens of parts of England, with around one in five noting increases mainly in the Midlands and the North.

He has called for the UK to ‘hold our nerve’, adding: ‘I do worry that people think it’s all over. The more they think that when it’s not, the greater the headwind they’re going to give to the vaccine programme and the more at risk will become the milestones set on the road map.’ 

His ‘sobering’ warnings came as the latest data confirmed Britain’s Covid outbreak is still firmly in retreat, with a catalogue of official figures piling even more pressure on Boris Johnson to relax lockdown measures sooner. 

Department of Health bosses recorded another 8,523 coronavirus infections and 345 deaths – with both measures down by roughly a third week-on-week. More than 520,000 vaccines were also dished out, with nearly 19.2million Britons now vaccinated. 

No10’s top scientific advisory panel SAGE estimated the R rate – the average number of people each Covid patient infects – is still at the lowest level since records began in June, staying between 0.6 and 0.9.

Separate statistics from one of the country’s most respected surveillance studies showed England’s outbreak has nearly halved in size over the last fortnight. 

Office for National Statistics experts estimated 373,700 people would test positive for the virus on any given day in the week ending February 19, or one in 145 residents. In comparison, the figure was almost 700,000 two weeks ago.

But a weekly report from a symptom-tracking app yesterday warned daily cases had risen three per cent in a week, to 9,545 in the seven-day spell ending February 21. 

SAGE also estimated the R rate has crept up slightly in the South East, North West and the Midlands but insisted the figure is still below the crucial level of one.

Despite the troubling trend, one leading scientist urged Britons ‘not to panic’ because hospitalisations and Covid deaths were still falling – and said Number 10 was still on track to lift restrictions ‘sooner rather than later’ because the UK is in a similar position to last May.

Professor Tim Spector, the King’s College London epidemiologist who is behind the app, added: ‘The difference this time is, while the variants may be more infectious, we have a vaccine that works and the older age groups are largely protected.’