UK records 360 more coronavirus deaths in lowest daily rise since March
27 April 2020, 20:11
Another 360 people in the UK have died in hospitals after contracting coronavirus - the lowest daily rise since 30 March.
A further 4,310 people have tested positive for Covid-19 which brings the nation's total number of infections to 157,149, the latest figures show.
The 360 new deaths represent the smallest daily rise in exactly four weeks and brings the nation's tally to 21,092.
However, Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Whitty said the country is not "consistently" past the peak of coronavirus deaths.
It comes after 152,839 people were reported to have contracted the virus as of Sunday.
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As of 9am 27 April, there have been 719,910 tests, with 37,024 tests on 26 April.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) April 27, 2020
569,768 people have been tested of which 157,149 tested positive.
As of 5pm on 26 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 21,092 have sadly died. pic.twitter.com/pZ73hu9GFJ
The professor said there is usually an "artificial drop" over the weekend which is typically seen because of lower notification rates.
"Nevertheless the trend overall ... is a gradual decline but we're definitely not consistently past the peak across the whole country at this point in time," he added.
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The number of people to have died in hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus is accurate as of 5pm 26 April.
Similarly, as of 9am 27 April, a total of 569,768 people have been tested, of which 412,619 returned negative.
There were 26,355 tests carried out on Monday and the capacity for 37,024.
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It comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced a life assurance scheme for NHS and frontline workers, giving £60,000 to the families of those lost to coronavirus.
The secretary of state was speaking at the daily Covid-19 briefing at Downing Street on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson returned to work today, saying the UK is starting to "turn the tide" against the virus but there will be no changes to lockdown as we are in the moment of "maximum risk."
Speaking outside Downing Street, the prime minister said the country was winning the first phase of the fight against the disease.
He added he had been "away from my desk for much longer than I would've liked."
