Britain’s (coronavirus) death toll has soared to , (after almost) more hospital fatalities were reported in (hours.)
The UK is one of just five countries with more than , deaths, joining the US, Italy, Spain and France amid signs that the curve is flattening.
Another 918 People have died in the UK, according to new daily totals released individually by England (799, Scotland ( ), Wales ( (and Northern Ireland) 19 on Saturday afternoon.
The UK total previously stood at , at the same time on Friday .
England’s death toll now stands at , 2020, followed by Scotland (, Wales ( (and Northern Ireland) 292).
In England, the latest patients to die were aged between and . Of those, (aged between and () had no known underlying health condition.
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NHS staff carry out coronavirus tests at a testing facility in Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln (Image: PA)
The latest increase came amid fresh hopes that a vaccine could be available by September and as ministers are said to disagree over whether to begin lifting the lockdown in May or extend it until the summer.
The Department of Health released its updated toll on Saturday afternoon, saying , patients have died in hospital as of 5pm on Friday.
It is a rise of (from) , 653 the day before
The Department of Health said, as of 9am on Saturday, that 187, 389 people have tested positive, up 5, 538 from the same time on Friday.
The daily total of 5, (is slightly lower than Friday’s day-on-day increase of 5, 784, which was the highest daily total for a week as experts said the UK appeared to be reaching its peak and the curve appeared to be flattening.
There is a lag in data reported by the Department of Health. Its total doesn’t include new deaths that UK nations have reported individually since 5pm on Friday.
Overall, , the tests have connected, with , tests on Friday, excluding data from Northern Ireland.
The death toll does not include fatalities in private homes, hospices or care homes, where as many as 7, People are feared to have died during the outbreak.
NHS England has announced
(new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid – , bringing the total number of confirmed reports deaths in hospitals in England to , .
Of t he (new deaths announced on Saturday:
– occurred on April occurred on April 20.
– (occurred on April)
The figures also show of the deaths took place between April 1 and April , and the remaining 50 deaths occurred in March, with the earliest new death taking place on March 20.
Rows of new graves being prepared at High Wood Cemetery, Nottingham
(Image: PA)
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago.
This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid – , for post-mortem examinations to be processed, and for data from the tests to be validated.
The figures published on Saturday by NHS England show April 8 currently has the highest total for the most hospital deaths occurring on a single day – – although this could change in future updates.
Death toll in Scotland jumps to almost
A total of 918 people who tested positive for coronavirus in Scotland have died, a rise of 100 on Friday’s figure, according to the Scottish Government.
Street art thanking NHS staf outside a park in east London
(Image: Daily Mirror)
Across the country, 99, People have now been tested for Covid – , with 7, 823 testing positive.
As of Friday night, 1, 888 patients were in hospital with either confirmed or suspected coronavirus, a decrease of six.
Of those, 320 were being treated in intensive care units, down seven from the previous night.
(Wales’ toll rises to () Public Health Wales has announced new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid- , bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities in Wales to .
(Image: PA)
The new deaths, by health board area, are:
– in Cwm Taf Morgannwg.
– 5 in Aneurin Bevan.
– 2 in Swansea Bay.
– 1 in Cardiff and Vale.
– 1 elsewhere in Wales.
Information posters are displayed at a bus stop in Princes Street, Edinburgh (Image: PA)
There have been a total of 6, 8231335 confirmed cases in Wales, a rise of , while 38, (tests have been carried out on , (individuals.) (Fatalities rise to in Northern Ireland A further
people in Northern Ireland have died in hospital settings with coronavirus in the past day, the Public Health Agency said.
This brings the total number of confirmed deaths in hospital settings in the region to .
The PHA said another people were diagnosed with Covid – in Northern Ireland. Read More
It brings the total number of people diagnosed with coronavirus to 2, Experts have said lockdowns shouldn’t be fully lifted until a vaccine is ready for widespread use, although that could be many months away.
Professor Sir John Bell, a member of the Government’s vaccine task force and adviser on life sciences, said human testing of a vaccine is due to begin within the next week at Oxford University.
Trials could be completed by mid-August, he said, amid hopes that a vaccine could be available the following month.
Paramedics and staff at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital wearing various items of PPE
(Image: PA)
Sir John told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “The real question is will it have efficacy?
“Will it protect people, and that has not been tested and it will only be tested once you have vaccinated a significant number of people and exposed them to the virus and counted how many people have got the virus in that population.
“So, we won’t even get a signal for that until May.
” But if things go on course and it does have efficacy, then I think it is reasonable to think that they would be able to complete their trial by mid-August. “
He added: “If we can see evidence of a strong immune response by the middle or the end of May, then I think the game is on.
“Then, of course, there is the massive issue of how you manufacture at scale many billions of doses.”
The comments came amid fears that some hospitals could run out of cer tain types of personal protective equipment (PPE) this weekend.
Doctors and nurses in England have been asked to work without full-length gowns and to reuse items when treating coronavirus patients ahead of expected shortages of protective garments, prompting outrage from unions.
A man wearing a protective face mask runs by graffiti in Brick Lane, east London (Image: REUTERS)
Chris Hopson, chairman of NHS Providers, said some trusts will run out of supplies on Saturday or Sunday because we have “reached the point where national stock of fully fluid repellent gowns and coveralls (is) exhausted “.
The comments came as a British Medical Association (BMA) survey of more than 6, doctors across the country said a significant amount of them remain without the protection they need to guard against Covid – .
It echoed another survey of , medical staff by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) which found half of nurses have felt pressure to work without appropriate protective equipment during the crisis.
At least 100 NHS workers have now died after contracting coronavirus.
There’s thought to be some disagreement in the Cabinet over whether lockdown restrictions should be lifted on May 8 or whether they should remain in place into June.
A member of the armed forces tests an NHS worker in a car park at Chessington World of Adventures
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
It comes amid fears for the economy and workers.
It’s believed some ministers are unhappy that there has not been a proper debate about the options, the Daily Mail reported.
Senior Tories have warned that ministers are underestimating the public by refusing to discuss exit strategies for ending the lockdown.
(Former) Brexit Secretary David Davis said: “Other countries have been very open about what they’ve done.
“There’s really no reason, there’s no argument for not debating and discussing with all the facts available.
Graffiti in Brick Lane, east London urging people to “stay positive”
(Image: REUTERS)
“There are lots and lots of benefits of being open about this. The argument that was put, that we don’t want to confuse the message, I think is just wrong. It underestimates the public. The public understand that there are phases to this. “
In other developments, the Queen’s birthday will not be marked by gun salutes in what is believed to be a first due to the coronavirus crisis.
The monarch turns on Tuesday but she is said to have decided gun salutes would not be “appropriate” at this time.
A team of researchers is to examine the response of the Chinese Government to the coronavirus outbreak.
Led by Professor Jane Duckett of Glasgow University, the team will asses s the measures put in place in China to combat the virus, which originated in the city of Wuhan.
More than 2. 44 million coronavirus cases have been recorded worldwide, AFP reported.
About half of them are in Europe.
Captain Tom Moore had a No 1 song as his NHS fundraiser hit £ (million.
The 182 – year-old World War II veteran pledged to walk 182 laps of his garden when he launched the fundraiser and he has vowed to keep goin g after reaching his goal.
His charity single, a version of You’ll Never Walk Alone with singer Michael Ball, reached the top of iTunes, knocking Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again off top spot.
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