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Another 67 people died from coronavirus in the UK in the last day.
Today’s increase is Sunday’s largest increase in deaths since June 7, when 77 were recorded, and cases also soared today at 16,982.
England suffered 59 deaths, while Northern Ireland had five, Wales three and Scotland zero.
It comes as the death toll in hospitals from coronavirus in the UK rose by 69.
The two figures are calculated differently, which means that the number of hospital deaths can sometimes be higher than all deaths.
The overall death count in the UK is now 43,646, with the total number of cases reaching 722,409.
A member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said that Christmas will be “tough” this year and is unlikely to be a traditional family celebration if Covid-19 infections continue to rise amid the flu season.
(Image: Getty Images)
Professor Jeremy Farrar said that a national breaker lockout is now needed, as recommended by Sage last month, stating that there could currently be 50,000 coronavirus cases per day across the UK.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the Wellcome Trust director said the “best time” to introduce the temporary lock would have been around September 20.
The “second best time” is now, and the “worst time” is at the end of November, when things really would have gotten considerably worse. “
He added: “I think we have to be honest and realistic and say that we are in a very, very difficult three to six month period.”
(Image: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/)
“The temperatures drop, we are all indoors more often, we have the other infections that come at this time of year.”
However, he said there is “light at the end of the tunnel” as he believes that a Covid-19 vaccine and effective treatment will be ready in early 2021.
Of the current increase in hospital deaths, England reported 61 deaths, Northern Ireland five, Wales three and Scotland experienced none.
It’s the biggest increase on a Sunday since 77 deaths were announced on June 7.
In recent Sundays, 35 deaths were confirmed on October 11, October 29 on October 4, 18 on September 27, and 12 on September 20.
The lowest total on a Sunday was three (set multiple times in August and early September), while the highest was 710 on April 12, when the UK was at the initial peak of its outbreak.
The figure tends to be lower on Sundays due to a late weekend reporting.
NHS England announced 61 deaths, bringing the total number of hospital deaths in England to 30,971.
The latest victims were between 54 and 96 years old, and all but four, aged 56 to 92, had known underlying health problems. The deaths occurred between October 4-17.
(Image: Julian Hamilton / Daily Mirror)
The North West recorded the highest number of deaths (24), followed by the Midlands (14), North East and Yorkshire (12), South East (five), London (four) and East (two). The Southwest region reported zero deaths.
Four other deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
Northern Ireland reported five more deaths, bringing its total to 615. It now has 27,220 confirmed cases after 1,012 additional positive tests.
The death toll in Wales rose by three to 1,711, while the number of confirmed cases rose by 950 to 35,628.
A senior doctor told Sky News that there is no evidence to suggest that the coronavirus has become less dangerous despite falling death rates.
Dr Alison Pittard, dean of the College of Intensive Care Medicine in London, said that while treatment is improving, social distancing is also having an impact on transmission and viral load.
She said: “It is still a very deadly virus, although most people who are still infected will have a very, very mild illness or may not even know they are sick.
“For those people who require hospital admission, for those who come to intensive care, it is still a very serious disease.”
He added: “If you end up in intensive care with Covid pneumonia, you are almost twice as likely to die as someone who comes in with non-Covid pneumonia, so that’s still something to worry about.”
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