Death toll rises to 39,904 after further 176 people die with coronavirus

The UK death toll has risen to 39,904 after a further 176 people died with coronavirus.

Speaking during today’s press conference, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said there were 1,805 new cases of Covid-19 found, bringing the total number in the UK to 281,661. He said a record-breaking 220,057 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, bringing the total completed to 5,005,565.

Shapps also stated that 505 people were admitted to hospital on June 2, while 7,312 people remain in hospital with the virus. This number is 15% less than a week ago, where there were 8,550 people.

It comes after NHS England confirmed a further 115 people had died with Covid-19 in hospitals, while Scotland recorded nine deaths, Wales eight and Northern Ireland one. The official death toll released by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) also includes deaths in care homes and the wider community.

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Earlier today it was revealed that the UK recorded more coronavirus deaths on Wednesday than all the countries in the European Union put together. The country saw another 359 people die, while the combined death toll of the 27 EU nation states was 330.

The UK surpassed Italy and Spain weeks ago to become the worst-hit country in Europe, and has the world’s second highest death toll after the United States, whose population is nearly five times bigger.

Data from the Office for National Statistics also shows that the UK death toll is in reality much higher than current figures show, having already passed 50,000.

According to the ONS, 44,401 people had died with coronavirus in England and Wales by May 22. This number is then added to data from the National Records of Scotland, which showed that 3,911 people had died with Covid-19 by May 31.

In Northern Ireland, statistics show 716 Covid-19 deaths were also recorded up to May 22. All together, this creates a total of 49,028.

Between May 23 and June 1, a further 931 hospital patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 died in England, according to NHS England.

A further 78 people died in hospital and care homes across Wales, according to Public Health Wales, while in Northern Ireland, there were 22 deaths. Added to 49,028, this brings the death toll to 50,059.

ONS data is always slightly delayed as deaths must be registered to be included in the statistics, which can take several days.

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