Coronavirus death toll rises by 708 in a day to hit 4,313

4 April 2020, 14:15

A further 708 people have died in the UK from coronavirus, officials announced today.

The NHS said 4,313 people had died as of 5pm yesterday. The latest rise in deaths is the biggest daily rise so far as the UK battles the coronavirus crisis.

The Department of Health and Social Care. said a total of 183,190 people have been tested of which 41,903 tested positive.

The number of new coronavirus infections rose by 3,735 - the smallest increase in four days.

Further figures released today show that the death rate of those admitted to intensive care with Covid-19 has topped 50% in the UK.

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Data compiled by the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) based on a sample of 2,249 coronavirus patients showed that of the 690 patients in the sample whose care outcomes were known, 346 - 50.1% - had died, while 344 had been discharged.

The remaining patients, 1,559, were reported still to be in critical care.

By way of comparison, just 22.4% of patients admitted to intensive care with non-Covid-19 viral pneumonia between 2017 and 2019 died of the disease.

In another development today suspected to be linked to the coronavirus crisis, an A&E department shut its doors to new patients.

West Herts hospitals posted online that Watford General’s emergency department was closed “until further notice, even in an emergency.” “Go to your next nearest hospital with an emergency department.”