UK coronavirus death toll rises to 41,405 as further two people die

The deaths of two more people who had coronavirus in the UK have been announced, bringing the total number to 41,405. 

There’s also been another jump in the number of new cases. Public Health England figures showed 1,033 more people have been diagnosed with the virus in the last 24 hours. This brings the overall figure since the start of the pandemic to 323,313.

It’s the third day this week when the number of people testing positive has been above the 1,000 mark but is less than yesterday’s rise of 1,182 and last Friday’s total of 1,441.

These figures cover deaths in all settings, including care homes and the wider community. 

Seperately NHS England announced the deaths of five more people in hospitals. This means a total of 29,490 people have died with coronavirus in hospital in England.

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The patients were aged between 41 and 96 years old, and all had known underlying health conditions.

Meanwhile, Scotland has recorded its second highest number of coronavirus cases since May, Nicola Sturgeon has revealed.

Speaking during the Scottish Government’s daily briefing, she said 71 positive tests had been recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 19,605.

This is the second highest daily total of new cases since May 23, after the 77 recorded yesterday.

There have been no further reported deaths of people who tested positive for coronavirus in Wales. The total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic remains at 1,589.

Public Health Wales said the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country had increased by 34, bringing the revised confirmed cases to 17,673.

Another 20 people in Northern Ireland have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total in the region to 6,576. No further deaths with Covid-19 have been reported leaving the tally in the region at 559.

It comes as the latest data showed a rise in the reproduction number, known as the R value, which determines how many more people will become infected by every new case. 

Data released by the Government shows the estimate for R across the UK is now between 0.9 and 1.1. This is an increase from the range of between 0.8 and 1.0 one week ago.

Meanwhile stricter restrictions have been announced for parts of north west England because the number of new cases remains stubbornly high. 

People living in Oldham, Blackburn and parts of Pendle will be banned from socialising with other households anywhere from midnight on Saturday as after a ‘semi-lockdown’ was imposed on the area. 

The new measures mean social activities indoors and outdoors can only be shared by people who live in the same home. 

The three virus hotspots have so far avoided a ‘full local economic lockdown’ with pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops permitted to stay open but only members of the same household are allowed to visit together. 

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