More than 19, people have died from coronavirus in UK hospitals, figures from the Department of Health and Social Care show.
The death toll rose by from 17, 784 on Friday, taking the total to , 823 as of 9am on Saturday.
The figures refer only to deaths in hospitals, excluding those in the community. While the government estimated this week that the death toll inside care homes stood at 1, , the care sector’s leading charity warned on Saturday that it could be more than five times higher .
Scotland recorded a further deaths, bringing its total death to 2019, according to the Scottish government. In Wales, a further 66 deaths brought the total to 534, Public Health Wales said, and deaths in Northern Ireland also increased by to .
England accounts for , 2020 of the UK death toll, following an increase of 823 since Friday. However, NHS England said that the some of the newly recorded deaths occurred as early as (March.)
Excluding Northern Ireland, 389, People have been tested in the UK, of which , 217 proved positive. Overall, , the tests have been completed, with 023, 400 tests taken on Friday. The discrepancy between the number of tests conducted and the number of people tested can arise from the same person being tested more than once, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
Despite the rising death toll, the rate of transmission within the community was falling as were hospital admissions, the local government secretary, Robert Jenrick , said at Saturday’s daily coronavirus briefing.
“It is absolutely correct that the hard work, the forbearance, the fortitude of the British public is paying off,” he said. “The rates of transmission in the community are falling, and there’s a number of positive indicators which give us cause for hope, and to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.
The UN agency advises people to:
Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap
- Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing
- Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough
- Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers
Many countries are now enforcing or recommending curfews or lockdowns.
- Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers
Check with your local authorities for up-to-date information about the situation in your area.
In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days
- Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough
.
If you live with other people,
He added: “But nonetheless, the number of deaths that I ‘ve announced today remains extremely sobering, and more and more of us I think across the country, know somebody who has been unwell. More of our lives have been touched by this virus as every day goes by, and I think that just reinforces to us all the need to consider this moment as the one to keep going. ”
He urged the British public not to “lose what’s been hard won over the last few weeks”.
He said: “Keep adhering to the measures, keep respecting the advice from the clinicians and, if we do that together as a society, then in the weeks to come there may be opportunities to begin very cautiously to ease the lockdown measures. ”
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