Coronavirus: UK records 532 COVID-related deaths, highest since mid-May | UK News



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Another 532 people with coronavirus have died across the UK in the last 24-hour period, compared to 194 the day before, government figures show.

It is the highest number on record since May 12 and brings the total number of deaths in the UK to 49,770.

Another 20,412 people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the UK’s total number to 1,233,775.

On Monday, 194 deaths were reported within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test and 21,350 new cases were confirmed.

Separate government figures show there were 13,617 coronavirus patients in hospital in England on Sunday, up from 11,557 a week ago, while 1,268 were in ventilation beds as of Monday, up from 1,075 a week ago.

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A total of 1,366 confirmed coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals in England on Friday, the latest figure available, compared with 1,350 a week earlier.

Meanwhile, weekly coronavirus deaths have surpassed 1,000 for the first time since June, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In the week ending October 30, there were 1,379 deaths in England and Wales that listed COVID-19 on the death certificate, an increase of 41% from the previous week, and accounted for 12.7% of all deaths. deaths.

For the second week in a row, hospital deaths were above the five-year average, with 244 excess deaths.

On October 29, there were 189 deaths in hospitals, the highest number per day since May 18.

Nuffield Trust Deputy Director of Research Sarah Scobie said another “grim milestone” had been reached, adding: “Clearly, we are now seeing the fallout of looser social distancing restrictions during the summer beginning to manifest.

“For the second week in a row, the number of deaths recorded in hospitals is above the five-year average.

“We are likely to see this trend continue for more weeks in some regions, as hospitals accept patients as a result of the second increase in infections.

“It is still too early to see the impact on deaths from both the tiered system and the nationwide lockdown measures for England.”

Cases and deaths have increased in all regions of England as the winter period approaches, and areas such as Oldham, Blackburn with Darwen and Merthyr Tydfil have the highest infection rates today.

North West England recorded 445 COVID-19-related deaths in the week ending October 30, the highest number for the region since the week ending May 15, according to the ONS.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, 204 deaths were recorded during the same period, the highest since June 5, and 118 deaths were recorded in north-east England, the highest since May 29.

London was the only English region to have fewer deaths overall than the five-year average.

However, there has been renewed hope that things will look better for the spring of next year, as a breakthrough in the vaccine was announced on Monday.

Data from the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine candidate, developed by American and German researchers, have found that it is 90% effective to prevent people from getting the virus.

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COVID-19 vaccine: Will it end the crisis?

Leaders and scientists have urged caution that further analysis should be conducted on the safety of the jab and said it will take months to implement any potential vaccine, but it is an extraordinary victory for scientists.

The UK has already obtained 40 million doses of the candidate vaccine and the NHS is getting ready to potentially implement it early next month.

Meanwhile, the government also plans to step up its testing plans assigning 600,000 rapid tests to local authorities.

A mass testing scheme has already been piloted in Liverpool, where people can get tested for COVID-19 even if they have no symptoms, but rapid tests are now also being offered to local authorities across the country.

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