UK coronavirus death toll rises to 41,369 after another three people die
The number of new cases has fallen below the 1,000 mark for the first time in seven days.
Another three people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK, bringing the overall death toll from the pandemic to 41,369.
New Government figures also show there have been a further 713 cases of the virus detected in the past 24 hours. This means the number of new cases has fallen below the crucial 1,000 mark after six straight days of more than 1,000 cases being announced. The total number of confirmed cases overall now stands at 319,197.
Public Health England’s figures cover deaths in all settings including care homes and the wider community.
NHS England has also announced that a further two people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital. This brings the total number of confirmed reported hospital deaths in England to 29,460.
Patients were aged between 81 and 86 years old. Both had known underlying health conditions. One death came in the north east and Yorkshire region and the other was in the south east.
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No new coronavirus deaths have been reported in Scotland in the last 24 hours, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.
A total of 2,491 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus but there have been no new deaths in over a month.
Speaking earlier during the Scottish Government’s daily briefing, the First Minister said 19,358 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 26 from the day before.
No new deaths were recorded today in Wales either, meaning the country’s total number of deaths stays at 1,589. There were 14 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 17,575.
No new deaths but another 39 cases of Covid-19 have been detected in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health said. Most of the new cases over the last 24 hours were in Belfast.
It comes as local lockdown restrictions in some parts of the North could be lifted as early as this week, according to the mayor of Greater Manchester.
Andy Burnham said the restrictions would be eased where case numbers have dropped but could be tightened even further in the worst-hit areas.
Areas of Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and West Yorkshire covering some 4.5 million people have been under stricter curbs than the rest of the UK for the past two weeks.
A weekly review of the restrictions is due and the number of new cases is flattening in most areas, apart from Oldham which has the country’s highest infection rate with 108.4 cases per 100,000 people.
Fears are mounting that more holiday hotspots could be added to the UK’s list of quarantine countries with Greece, Croatia and Turkey all witnessing a rapid rise in cases.
The government has set a benchmark of 20 cases per 100,000 before it will remove countries from its safe list of travel destinations.
Greece has seen a significant new number of coronavirus cases, from 202 last week to 226 on Sunday. Turkey recorded its highest daily number of cases since June, with 1,256 positive tests and 21 deaths in the past 24 hours. Croatia is also now recording 21.5 cases per 100,000 people across the last seven days.
A No. 10 spokesman refused to deny that tourists returning from Croatia and Greece could face quarantine measures, saying the government will ‘continue to keep these rules under review’.
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