The UK government may put the brakes on easing restraints after a rise in COVID-19 cases.

This is coming after a further four people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,611. This is according to NHS England.

Reacting to the fact that there have been almost 6,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the UK in the last two days, England’s deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said: “This is a big change, it’s now consistent over two days and it is of great concern at this point.

“We’ve been able to relax a bit over the summer, the disease levels have been really quite low in the UK through the summer.

“But these latest figures really show us that much as people might like to say ‘oh well, it’s gone away’…this hasn’t gone away.

“This is a virus we’re going to have to live with – and if we’re not careful, if we don’t take this incredibly seriously from this point in, we’re going to have a bumpy ride over the next few months.”

Also, the seven-day rate of new cases of coronavirus in the UK has risen above 20 cases per 100,000 people. The rate was 21.3 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to 7 September, representing an upward swing of 13.9 in the previous week, that is the seven days to 31 August.

A rate above 20 is the level at which the government considers imposing quarantine restrictions on people arriving back in the UK from certain countries.