UK records over 10,000 new COVID-19 cases for 3rd day in a row

The UK has recorded more than 10,000 daily cases for the third day in a row, with a top scientist warning that the country is in the grips of a third wave.

The country confirmed 10,321 new cases on Saturday, bringing the overall caseload to over 4.6 million. A further 14 deaths pushed the total to 127,970.

Over 42.6 million Brits have received their first dose of a COVID vaccine, while over 31 million are fully vaccinated.

The rapid increase in cases, despite the blistering speed of the vaccination program, has been caused by the Delta variant, which was first identified in India and is now the dominant strain in the UK.

Prof. Adam Finn, who sits on the government's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), told the BBC: "It's going up, perhaps we can be a little bit optimistic it's not going up any faster, but nevertheless it's going up, so this third wave is definitely under way.

"We can conclude that the race is firmly on between the vaccine program, particularly getting older people's second doses done, and the Delta variant third wave."

He added: "The sooner we can get, particularly second doses, into older people, the less of a hospitalization wave we'll see this time around ... then things will be able to move back towards normal."

All over-18s can now book for vaccine appointments. Football grounds and parks are among the venues used across the country as pop-up vaccination centers.