with the delta variant that originated in india. we mustn�*t let our guard down, it is really important we keep genomic surveillance going, because we know that some of these variants can affect the efficacy of vaccination. and that is the risk we are running, actually. let�*s take a look at the latest coronavirus figures, and there were 30,141; new infections recorded, in the latest 24—hour period. that means in the last week, there was an average of 29,561 new cases per day. 8068 people were in hospital, across the uk, according to the latest figures, with 164 deaths — that�*s of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. the average number of deaths per day in the last week is now 143. 89.3% of people aged 16 or over have had theirfirst jab, while 81.6% are now double vaccinated.