UK records lowest daily number of coronavirus deaths since March

Another 288 deaths from coronavirus patients were reported across the UK on Sunday, the lowest daily count since March 30, health secretary Matt Hancock announced.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said “it was now very clear from the data that we are past the peak” of the outbreak, but warned that “we have to reduce cases” to meet all five government tests. to lift blocking restrictions.

The figure, which includes deaths inside and outside hospitals, brings the total death toll in the UK to 28,734, leaving the country third most affected by the pandemic, behind the United States and Italy.

But the grim UK figure is closing rapidly in Italy, where the 174 deaths announced today represented a two-month low and brought the overall total during the outbreak to 28,884.

Ministers and doctors will be encouraged by the relatively low death toll in today’s UK figures, which cover 24 hours at 9 am Monday and were unveiled at the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing. .

The 315 announced on Sunday follow, which was itself lower than on any day in April.

However, death reports have been consistently lower over the weekend during the outbreak, as a result of administrative delays.

Hancock said the numbers can be expected to rise sharply again on Tuesday, with a clear possibility that the UK will jump to unwanted second place on the world fatality charts.

Due to delays in recording deaths, many do not report the day they actually take place.

Announcing the statistics at the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing, Hancock said the latest figure was “lower than anywhere else since the end of March.”

But he added: “These reported figures tend to be lower over the weekend, so we expect that number to rise.

And remember, this is not just a number. It is a constant and insistent reminder that we must go further and faster in our national effort to tackle this virus. “

Van-Tam said statistics on infections and the number of patients in the hospital showed that in almost all areas of the UK, there are “constant but absolutely consistent declines”

Total deaths, on an average of seven days, showed “a slow but steady decline, which is going absolutely in the right direction now.”

Professor Van-Tam’s daily tests for the coronavirus are now at 85,186, with a capacity of 108,000 to be performed. In total, some 1,291,591 tests have been carried out.

The May 4 figure was 15,000 below the 100,000 target that Mr. Hancock claimed to have met on April 31 amid widespread accusations that the figures were massaged to meet their self-imposed deadline.

Over the past week, the number of people with Covid-19 in GB hospitals decreased from 15,322 to 13,258, a decrease of 13%. On May 4, 3,985 new cases were registered.

“This is all very encouraging,” said Professor Van-Tam. “The tests are going up, people are using testing services more and we are within our capacity.”