Further 35,077 Covid cases and 33 deaths recorded in 24 hours

People queue to receive a Covid-19 jab at the pop-up centre (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
PA Wire

A further 33 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday bringing the UK total to 136,986, the Government said.

Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 159,716 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

As of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 35,077 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, the Government said.

The 33 deaths were among 778 in the past seven days.

Government data up to October 3 shows that of the 93,948,903 Covid jabs given in the UK, 48,956,859 were first doses, a rise of 24,123 on the previous day.

Some 44,992,044 were second doses, an increase of 21,532.

The figures were released as the Government wants to see a “steady return” of the public to their workplaces, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

A woman receives a jab at the vaccination centre (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
PA Wire

It comes after Conservative former minister Jake Berry urged civil servants to go back to the office, joking their “woke-ing from home” must end.

Speaking at a fringe event in Manchester, chairman of the Northern Research Group of Conservative MPs and former Northern Powerhouse minister Mr Berry said: “We have to end the Civil Service ‘woke-ing’ from home – sorry, I mean working from home, but, let’s be honest, it often is woke-ing.”

Official “work from home” Whitehall guidance was removed on July 19 and the Government told businesses they expected “a gradual return over the summer”.

However, insiders said Whitehall had only seen a slight increase in staff back at their desks, with numbers still “pretty low”.

In September, job adverts for roles at HM Treasury revealed staff would be allowed to work from home in a hybrid pattern on a permanent basis. The workers would spend an average of two to three days a week in the office.

Asked about Mr Berry’s comments, Mr Johnson’s official spokesman defended the Civil Service but emphasised the importance of “working in person”.

Boris Johnson speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday (Jeff Overs/BBC)
PA Media

He said: “The position of the Government remains that we want to see a steady return of the public to working in person, and that’s the expectation of the Civil Service, that’s what we’ve seen throughout the summer.

“It’s important again to emphasise that it was a number of civil servants who worked on the front lines throughout the pandemic and we will continue to abide by the guidelines so that staff return steadily and safely to work.”

He said civil servants “have been able to deliver for the public whilst working from home”.

But he added: “That said, as the Prime Minister has said repeatedly, there are significant benefits to being in work, to office working, and those should not be discounted. That’s why we are encouraging all employers to start steadily bringing in their workforce, as we are at this stage of the epidemic.”

Going into the winter, he said it is for individual employers to make decisions.

As part of the Labour Party’s focus on issues affecting working lives, Angela Rayner promised to give people the legal right to work flexibly to fit in family and school needs.

Sir Keir Starmer’s deputy leader said a Labour government would legislate so “work fits around people’s lives instead of dictating their lives”.

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