UK coronavirus death toll rises above 17,000
The UK’s coronavirus death toll has risen above 17,000 after a further 823 people were confirmed to have died in hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.
The Department of Health said this afternoon that the UK coronavirus death toll had risen to 17,337 by 5pm yesterday.
As of 9am today, 535,342 tests have been carried out, with 18,206 tests concluded yesterday. So far, 397,670 people have been tested of which 129,044 tested positive.
Downing Street this morning stood by its target of administering 100,000 coronavirus tests per day by the end of the month, despite currently having capacity to carry out 39,250 tests a day.
Yesterday deaths increased by 422, which was the lowest daily increase in deaths for two weeks.
However the number of reported hospital fatalities is often lower on Sundays and Mondays due to delays in registering deaths over the weekend.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics this morning showed that England and Wales suffered the highest weekly death toll since 2000 earlier this month, with coronavirus responsible for a third of the 18,516 deaths.
The total for the week ending 10 April was 2,129 higher than the previous week, the ONS said, and was also 41 per cent more than the government’s official figures.
The daily update from the Department of Health does not include deaths outside hospitals.