UK coronavirus death toll leaps by 881 to 7,978

9 April 2020, 17:17

By Nick Hardinges

@NHardinges

The number of people to have died in the UK after contracting coronavirus has jumped by 881 to 7,978.

A further 4,344 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the nation's tally to 65,077.

It comes after 60,733 people were reported as contracting the virus as of Wednesday.

The 881 new deaths represent another significant rise on the 7,097 deaths reported yesterday.

The number of people to have died in hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus is accurate as of 5pm 8 April.

Similarly, as of 9am 9 April, a total of 243,421 people have been tested of which 178,344 returned negative.

The reason behind the differing times is that the data comes from separate sources.

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In England, the number of people to have died in hospital after contracting coronavirus increased by 765, according to NHS England.

Public Health Wales confirmed a further 41 people who tested positive for Covid-19 died, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 286.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland's death toll jumped by 81, reaching a total of 447.

Speaking ahead of a virtual question and answer session with party leaders, she said 4,957 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 392 from 4,565 the day before.

The number of people to die in Northern Ireland after contracting coronavirus rose by four to 82 on Thursday. There were 138 new cases confirmed, bringing the total in the region to 1,477.

A total of 16,095 tests had been carried out across the UK on 8 April.

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