UK sees lowest daily rise in coronavirus cases since March as death toll hits 39,045
There have been 4,480,000 coronavirus tests carried out since the pandemic first began, the Health Secretary said.
A further 111 people have died with coronavirus, bringing the UK death total to 39,045.
Speaking at today’s daily press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock also confirmed there were 1,570 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, the lowest since March 26, bringing the country’s total to 276,332. He said there were 479 admissions to hospital which were related to the virus.
He also stated that 128,437 coronavirus tests were carried out across the country on Sunday, while the UK currently has capacity for 205,444. He noted that 4,480,000 tests have been carried out in the nation since the pandemic began.
Earlier today 115 NHS England confirmed 108 deaths had taken place in hospitals, while Wales recorded five and Scotland and Northern Ireland both one. The official death toll announced today by Hancock also includes Covid-19 deaths in care homes and the wider community.
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Earlier today it emerged that 69 of England’s hospital trusts, equating to around 57% of the country’s total number, recorded no coronavirus-related deaths over the weekend. Each trust is responsible for several hospitals.
Data analysed by Oxford University researchers revealed that more than half of London’s 18 main NHS trusts made the list, while 13 trusts across the nation also reported no Covid-19 deaths in the last week.
Among them were the North Middlesex hospital, with no Covid-19 fatalities since May 20, Whittington Hospital with none since May 19 and the Hillingdon Hospital with none since May 13. However, researchers did caution that reporting over the weekends tend to be lower than weekdays due to a backlog in records with smaller numbers of staff.
They also noted that reporting of deaths by NHS England ‘underestimate’ those by the Office for National Statistics, which has previously predicted the country’s true death toll is considerably higher than reported.
Today much of England appeared to take a step towards normality as the government relaxed a series of lockdown restrictions which have been in place since March. Children in Reception, Year One and Year Six returned to school, while shielders are now permitted to be outside their homes for the first time.
The public are now also allowed to meet up outside in groups of six, so long as social-distancing rules are adhered to. The new rules allow for families and friends to travel freely around the country, so long as they do not stay anywhere overnight that is not their primary home.
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However new coronavirus guidelines have now implicitly made it clear that meeting up with a person from another household inside your own home is illegal. The new regulation reads: ‘No person may participate in a gathering which takes place in a public or private place indoors, and consists of two or more persons.’
Before today, the person who goes inside another person’s home would have been the one breaching the rules. However, now both people could be prosecuted under the new amendment to the The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020 bill, that is set to be presented before Parliament on Monday morning.
Only those with ‘reasonable excuses’ will be allowed to meet privately indoors, with examples referencing elite athletes, vulnerable people and key workers. It is not yet clear how a person could be prosecuted – and whether they will be fined – if they are found breaching the new laws.
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