UK coronavirus hospital deaths rise 393 in the highest Saturday rise since May

The death toll in hospitals from coronavirus in the UK has risen by 393, the biggest increase on a Saturday since the beginning of May.

England reported 314 deaths, Scotland had 39, Wales had 31 and Northern Ireland had nine to bring Britain’s total of hospitals to 52,204.

It’s the highest figure on a Saturday since 469 hospital deaths were announced on May 2, when the UK was coming off its initial peak, and it comes after totals fell on two consecutive Saturdays.

By comparison, recent Saturday totals were 368 on December 5, 370 on November 28, 391 on November 21, 370 on November 14, and 366 on November 7.

It came as scientists warned that the UK could face a third wave of coronavirus and more lockdowns after the rules are relaxed at Christmas to allow families to mingle indoors. It comes after earlier warnings that the country is headed for “disaster.”

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Another 314 people who tested positive for coronavirus died at a hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 44,126, NHS England said on Saturday.

The patients were between 38 and 102 years old. All but 17 were over 60.

All but 11, aged 63 to 93, had known underlying health problems.

The deaths occurred between November 7 and December 11. Thirteen other deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

Scotland has recorded 39 coronavirus deaths and 1,064 positive tests in the last 24 hours, according to Scottish government statistics.

With this measure, the death toll (of people who tested positive for the virus for the first time in the previous 28 days) rises to 4,109.

A total of 105,370 people have tested positive in Scotland, up from 104,306 the day before.

The daily rate of positivity of the test is 5.2%, compared to 4.6% the day before.

Of the new cases, 296 are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 151 in Lanarkshire, 143 in Lothian, 104 in Fife and 103 in Tayside.

994 people in the hospital have been confirmed to have the virus, five in 24 hours.

Of these patients, 52 are in intensive care, minus one.

The death toll in Wales rose by 31 to 2,849. There were 2,494 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 100,725.

Northern Ireland reported nine more deaths to bring its death toll to 1,120, as well as 476 new positive test results for a total of 57,733.

Relaxing restrictions on coronavirus across the UK over Christmas is a “mistake” that will have “consequences”, said a public health expert.

Linda Bauld, a professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, said she was concerned about people traveling from areas with high infections to parts of the country with lower prevalence of the virus.

The UK government and decentralized administrations agreed on a joint plan to relax social distancing rules for five days during the holiday period, between December 23 and December 27, allowing friends and family to hug for the first time in months.

But Professor Bauld told BBC Breakfast: “From a public health perspective, I have to be perfectly honest, I think this is wrong.

“I think people have to think very carefully if they can see their loved ones outside or do it in a very modest way.

“I’m also concerned about travel, people who go from high to low prevalence areas.

“I think it will have consequences.”

However, Professor Bauld added that if the government fails to deliver on the promise, trust in politicians could be further eroded.

She continued: “I fully understand why governments are doing that. Behavior people are fed up.

“If you meet people inside other homes, there is poor ventilation, maybe older family members are in those bubbles, unfortunately because the virus has not been eliminated … I think that means that the Christmas period is a risk”.

The latest coronavirus data shows, for the seven days to December 7, of the 315 local areas in England, 179 have seen an increase in case rates, 135 have seen a drop and one has not changed.

Vaughan Gething, Wales’ health minister, said the country faces an “incredibly dire situation” with a rising tide of infections since the relaxation of the rules on 9 November.

He said that in theory the Welsh government could break the deal between Westminster and delegate administrations, but added that it would cause a loss of confidence.

He said: “There are big problems here about trust in the government.

“If we alter those rules, we would lose the trust of a large number of people who have stayed with us and we would also see, I am afraid, a variety of people prepared to ignore the rules.

“Even with the agreement in place, we are likely to see a lot of people go the extra mile anyway.

“This is why we are anticipating an increase after Christmas and why I hope there will be an increase after New Years Eve as well.”

Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, earlier this week warned the public to be “very, very sensible” and not go “too far” during Christmas, which he called a “very risky period”.

Scientists have already urged people to rethink Christmas amid rising infections, warning that the country is headed for “disaster.”

Just because people can get together doesn’t mean they should, according to the Independent Sage.

The Independent Sage is also calling for a pandemic fuel subsidy so that people can keep their homes ventilated while simultaneously turning on the heat to stay warm.

Professor Stephen Reicher, University of St Andrews, said: “Right now we are headed for disaster.

“Given the high levels of infection across the country and rising levels in some areas (like London), it is inevitable that if we all choose to get together over Christmas we will pay the price in the new year.