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The death toll from coronavirus in the UK has risen to 26,711, new figures reveal.
It is a 674 increase in yesterday’s count, with data now combined to include deaths in hospitals, nursing homes and the community at large.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus blog live for the latest news and updates
The increase in deaths is less than yesterday, when 765 deaths were recorded across the UK.
Until then, the Government had only been releasing the number of people who had died from the insect in hospitals each day, excluding a significant proportion of the total victims.
Boris Johnson revealed the true numbers at today’s daily coronavirus briefing, adding that 171,253 had already tested positive for the virus, 6,032 more than yesterday.
It is the first time that the Prime Minister chairs the 5 p.m. update. in a month, after battling the deadly bug and welcoming her newborn son yesterday.
RAY OF HOPE
Giving hope to the nation, he said, “We have reached the top. Now we can see the sunlight and the grass ahead.
“It is vital that we do not lose control and run to a second, larger mountain.”
The prime minister assured the British that he will establish a comprehensive plan next week to boost the economy, get children to school and find a way to make workplaces safer.
And he insisted that the key to lifting the blockade is ensuring that we can keep transmission rate R low.
He said: “Scientists around the world have been tracking the R of the coronavirus from the beginning.
“In March at its peak, R was around three, which appears to be the natural rate of the virus.
“Thanks to you, we have been able to reduce R and it is now below one.
“We have just passed the virus spike, and its vital R remains below one. The government will monitor R closely.”
We have reached the top. Now we can see the sunlight and the grass in front of us.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Earlier today, NHS England revealed that 20,137 patients have died of coronavirus in English hospitals alone, the first time the number has exceeded 20,000.
At the last count, the patients were between 15 and 101 years old, including a 49-year-old with no underlying health conditions.
The increase is among the lowest recorded in England this month, and is considerably lower than any other daily increase recorded by NHS England on a Thursday in April.
In Scotland, 1,475 people have died after testing positive for the error, 60 more than yesterday.
In Wales, 22 more covid-19 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of deaths to 908.
The total in Northern Ireland is now 347, after nine more deaths were confirmed today.
FALLEN HEROES
Among the latest deaths is retired NHS nurse Jeanette Field, whose husband of 28 years was unable to attend his funeral since he himself was in a coma with the insect.
María Victoria Prado, a home care nurse, died in the arms of her 12-year-old daughter after trapping covid-19, forcing her to receive foster care.
Meanwhile, a NHS trust released a probe after 62-year-old Dr. Peter Tun died of the virus after repeated pleas for better protection from the coronavirus.
It comes as:
It occurs when researchers at the University of Warwick believe that a “progressive age-release strategy” to allow younger people to get out earlier combined with social estrangement is the surest way out of the UK closure.
They say over 50s should be kept locked up longer than younger, fined Brits if they can’t prove their age when they’re out.
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Others hope that a new vaccine will pull the UK out of the shutdown.
British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca says it could have a vaccine ready in just a few months and would distribute it “virtually free” if the trials at Oxford are deemed successful.
TEST TIMES
Today, a minister admitted that the government is “likely to miss targets of 100,000 tests per day by the end of the month.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock had promised that there would be 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, tomorrow.
But speaking this morning, Attorney General Robert Buckland admitted that the goal is unlikely to be met tomorrow.
He said: “Even if we don’t hit it, and we probably won’t, we will in the next few days.”
Deaths from coronavirus in the UK reached 26,097 yesterday, an increase of 4,419 the day before.
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STAY INSIDE
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COVID TRAGEDY
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Long road ahead
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PASTE IN RED
People over 50 “should be locked up longer and fined if they can’t prove their age”
The new figure did not mean an increase of 4,419 deaths in 24 hours, but included non-hospital deaths prior to March 2.
Of the recently confirmed deaths, 765 were recorded in the past 24 hours.
The other 3,811 were the ones that took place outside the hospitals between March and April.
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