UK chancellor on virus figures glitch, eat out scheme

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Tuesday said a technical glitch which saw more than 15,000 coronavirus cases go initially unreported had not "substantially" altered the path of a recent national rise in infections. Speaking to British broadcaster Sky, Sunak said the mistake "should absolutely not have happened" but added it had not altered government experts' impression of how the virus was spreading around the country.

Over the weekend it was disclosed some 15,841 infections from between September 25 and October 2 had not been tabulated. Though those testing positive had been told of their status, their contacts - potentially around 50,000 people - weren't traced at the time.

Sunak said the UK was experiencing a "second wave" similar to France and Spain which was a "feature of the virus" rather than a result of anything specific to Britain. He also praised Prime Minister Boris Johnson's work during the pandemic, saying the country should be "grateful" for Johnson's leadership.

The UK has Europe's highest virus-related death toll at around 42,400. The government's chief scientific advisers warned two weeks ago that if more restrictions were not taken, the country could end up with 50,000 new cases a day by mid-October.

(Image Credits: AP)

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