Britain’s coronavirus death toll nears 20,000 as England, Wales and Scotland announce 761 more COVID-19 fatalities
- NHS England confirmed a further 587 people died with COVID-19 in last 24 hours
- Wales announced 110 more people had died while Scotland recorded 64 deaths
- Victims in England aged between 40 and 102 and 34 had no health conditions
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Another 761 people have died from coronavirus in Britain, taking the total number of fatalities to 19,499.
NHS England confirmed a further 587 people died with COVID-19 and another 174 deaths were announced across Scotland and Wales.
Victims in England were aged between 40 and 102 years old, and 34 of them had no known underlying health conditions.
The 761 new deaths mark a 24% rise from yesterday’s 616, although today’s figures are preliminary and are yet to be confirmed by the Department of Health.
A total of 1,184 patients have now died in Scotland after testing positive for COVID-19, a rise of 64 from 1,120 on Thursday.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said a further 288 had tested positive for the killer virus, meaning 138,609 people in Britain have now been officially diagnosed.
Speaking at her daily press briefing, Mrs Sturgeon revealed the number of people in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 is 1,710, down from 1,748 yesterday.
She added that 141 of these patients are intensive care, seven less than there were on Thursday.
Mrs Sturgeon described the drop in hospital and ICU figures as ‘a growing cause for optimism that the lockdown is working to suppress the virus’.
Meanwhile Wales recorded 110 more deaths and 243 new cases of the lethal infection.
As Britain’s coronavirus death tally edges closer to 20,000:
- Traffic has returned to London’s A40, with 10 per cent more cars hitting the roads as shops, building sites and factories reopen
- Nicola Sturgeon says Scottish people could soon be allowed to meet with a ‘bubble’ of up to friends or family as deaths and cases continue to fall
- Northern Ireland has similarly signalled it could lift restrictions independently of the rest of the UK
- But Wales maintains that people should not leave their home unless absolutely essential as hundreds more people continue to die every day
- The FTSE 100 index of Britain’s largest companies dropped by 86 points or 1.48 per cent to 5,740 this morning after drug trials showed anti-Ebola medicine Remdesivir does not help coronavirus patients
- An ex-top civil servant said the UK should allow a Sweden-style ‘phased’ easing of the coronavirus restrictions beginning in June
Figures from the AA show show more car journeys than at any point over the past few weeks in a sign the economy is slowly restarting after the UK first entered coronavirus restrictions at the end of March