Five more die with coronavirus as number of UK cases rises by 1,040

There have now been 317,379 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.

Another five people have died with coronavirus in the UK, taking the total death toll for the pandemic to 41,361.

A further 1,040 people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of cases to 317,379.

This is the sixth day in a row where new case numbers have been above 1,000. Yesterday there were 1,012 new cases and the day before there were 1,441.

The Public Health England figures cover deaths in all settings including care homes and the wider community. Only deaths that occur within 28 days of a positive test are now being counted. This change resulted in around 5,000 deaths being removed from the death toll earlier this week.

NHS England reported that two people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospitals, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in this setting to 29,458.

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Patients were aged between 89 and 91 years old. Both had known underlying health conditions. One of the deaths came in the east of England, the other was in the north west. 

The Welsh Government’s figures showed that another two people who tested positive for coronavirus in Wales have died, bringing the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to 1,589.

Public Health Wales said the total number of cases in the country increased by 18, bringing the total to 17,561.

In Scotland, there have been 43 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours but no new deaths.

A total of 19,332 people have now tested positive for the virus, with the number of new cases down from the 51 announced on Saturday.

Scotland has now gone more than a month without the death of a person who has tested positive for the disease, meaning the total number of fatalities remains at 2,491.

The department for health in Northern Ireland has stopped publishing figures on weekends.

It comes as Tory ministers faced a backlash over plans to scrap Public Health England (PHE) and replace it with a new new pandemic response agency. 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is reportedly set to outline the National Institute for Health Protection in the coming week, with the new organisation overseeing PHE’s work on Covid-19 and the NHS Test and Trace system. 

Opposition MPs accused Boris Johnson’s government of desperately trying to ‘shift the blame’ due to a series of ‘ministerial failures’ amid the pandemic.

Ministers have also launched an urgent new campaign to convince parents in England that it is safe to send their kids back to school next month. 

The #backtoschoolsafely drive will underline the measures being put in place to minimise the risk of coronavirus transmission and suggest that classrooms are ‘the best place’ for pupils to be.  

It comes amid concerns among some families about the potential risks when children start the new term, with most children having been away from schools since March.

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