Coronavirus: England ‘on knife-edge’ as cases rise and lockdowns grow

Former chief scientific adviser issues warning to government after huge surge in cases

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New cases of coronavirus are doubling almost weekly across England, figures revealed, as Birmingham became the biggest local authority to announce a tightening of lockdown measures and health officials flagged “worrying signs” of infections in elderly people.

The measures to be introduced in Birmingham next week mean more than 7.3 million people – 11% of the UK population – will be living in areas affected by some level of local lockdown, according to a Guardian analysis.

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