The United Kingdom has passed 500,000 confirmed coronavirus infections, official figures showed, in the latest grim milestone for the European country worst-hit by the pandemic. Health authorities blamed a technical glitch for a sudden spike in cases announced in evening figures that had kept several thousand cases from the last week of September off the official tally. Sunday’s numbers showed 22,961 cases for the day, a rise of more than 10,000 on Saturday’s figures. Officials said the issue had now been resolved and earlier cases missed in the official count would be included in future figures. The United Kingdom has now recorded 502,978 Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with more than 42,000 deaths. Leaked documents reveal new lockdown planned for England Worldwide, the novel coronavirus has killed at least 1.03 million people and more than 35 million cases have been registered since the outbreak emerged, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The United States is the worst-hit country with almost 210,000 deaths from 7.4 million cases. In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country faced a “very tough winter” in the battle against the disease, but said there was “hope” the situation could improve by Christmas. Health authorities were meanwhile drawing up a vaccination programme that prioritises elderly people and at-risk workers. In France, Paris restaurants will be allowed to stay open – but under tightened restrictions – when the city is placed on maximum coronavirus alert, the prime minister’s office announced on Sunday. However bars and cafes in Paris and its environs appear certain to close under the new measures, set to last at least 15 days. When will Hong Kong’s fourth wave of Covid-19 hit? Very soon, experts warn Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the capital’s police chief Didier Lallement were expected to spell out the conditions on Monday. Health Minister Olivier Veran announced last week that only improved Covid-19 infection rates could prevent “total closures” of the city’s trademark cafes and bars. France reported nearly 17,000 new coronavirus cases on Saturday alone, the highest daily number since the country began widespread testing. More than 32,000 people have died from Covid-19 in France with another 49 fatalities on Saturday. Coronavirus patients are now taking up more than 30 per cent of the intensive care beds in the Paris region. Alarm over New York City coronavirus hotbeds Meanwhile in the United States, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he planned to reimpose restrictions on nine neighbourhoods as Covid-19 cases rise in parts of the city, which had largely controlled the virus after a catastrophic outbreak. The proposal, which must be approved by state Governor Andrew Cuomo, marks a major setback for America’s largest city since it was hit hard in March by the coronavirus. The city has lost almost 24,000 people to the virus. “Today, unfortunately, is not a day for celebration,” de Blasio said, announcing he would ask to close non-essential businesses and all schools in nine neighbourhoods of Brooklyn and Queens. If approved by the governor, who has not yet weighed in, the new restrictions would be the first step back toward lockdown in the city. New York City became the global epicentre of the pandemic in spring, but more recently officials had touted the lowest rates of test positivity and infection among major US cities. Several of the nine neighbourhoods have large populations of Orthodox Jews, and the virus has been spreading rapidly in that community in recent weeks. Additional reporting by Bloomberg