A cabinet minister has “ruled out” a further lockdown, after coronavirus deaths rose to their highest daily level since early March.

On Tuesday, the Government said a further 223 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the UK total to 138,852.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng responded to comments made by Professor Stephen Reicher - a member of the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours, which feeds into the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies – who had said the prospect of further lockdowns could not be discounted.

Mr Kwarteng told Sky News: “No, I would rule that out.

This Is Local London: Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng (PA)Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng (PA)

“Throughout this process, there’ve been people saying the lockdown was unnecessary, there have been other people saying we should continue the lockdown. We’ve really plotted a path between those two extremes.

“I think it’s worked and that’s why, one of the reasons, we’ve got the fastest-growing economy in the G7, it’s 7.5% this year, that’s the prediction, which is faster than any other comparable country, certainly in the G7.

“There’s a reason for that, and that’s because we’ve managed to successfully roll out the vaccine and reopen the economy, and that’s something that I think we’re very grateful for.”

Kwarteng told the BBC that the Government does “feel that it’s the time for Plan B right now”.

The seven-day average for cases is standing at 44,145 cases per day – the highest level for almost three months.

The UK now has one of the highest weekly rates of new reported cases in the world.

While hospital admissions and deaths in the UK are slowly creeping up, vaccines are still working well overall to prevent severe disease.

Number 10 said the Government was “not complacent” about rising coronavirus cases but added the level of hospital admissions and deaths were “an order of magnitude lower” compared to earlier in the pandemic.

Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London, and a leading member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said there is a need to speed up boosters and the vaccination of teenagers, who he suggested should be given two doses of a jab to block infection and transmission.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the Government is “ramping up” the vaccination programme, with children aged between 12 and 15 years old able to use the national booking service to secure their Covid-19 jabs “to make the most of half-term next week”.

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.