The UK has recorded 6,914 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, according to the latest government statistics, a slight decrease from the 7,108 the day before.

The positive test results, higher than during the peak of the first wave of the virus in the spring, come as the Health Secretary Matt Hancock imposed local lockdowns on 1 October in Liverpool and Warrington as well as the North-Eastern towns of Hartlepool and Middlesbrough following a spike in infections in those regions.