UK coronavirus death toll jumps by 569 to 2,921

2 April 2020, 14:10

By Nick Hardinges

@NHardinges

The number of people to have died in the UK after contracting coronavirus has jumped by 569 to 2,921.

A further 4,244 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the nation's tally to 33,718.

Thursday's rise, along with Wednesday's figure of 563, sees the UK report more than 500 deaths two days in a row for the first time.

Today's number is the largest daily rise so far in Britain since the outbreak began.

It took 19 days for the number of UK deaths to reach 300, whereas it has taken just 10 more days for the number to leap to just below 3,000.

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The number of people to have died after testing positive for coronavirus is accurate as of 5pm 1 April.

Similarly, as of 9am 2 April, a total of 163,194 people have been tested of which 129,476 returned negative.

Public Health England confirmed that 10,657 people were tested in England on Wednesday, the first time the number has exceeded 10,000.

Read more: Spain's coronavirus death toll surges past 10,000

Read more: Doctors could be made to choose who lives and dies if NHS gets overwhelmed

Although the rate of deaths in the UK has slowed from over 31 per cent to 24 per cent, the UK's rate is higher than Italy's, Spain's and France's at similar stages in the outbreak.

NHS England confirmed the number of deaths in England's hospitals of people who tested positive for coronavirus stands at 2,698 - an increase of 561 - while the patients were aged between 22 and 100.

Of the 561 total deaths, 44 of the victims - aged between 25 and 100 - had no known underlying health conditions.

Boris Johnson tests positive for coronavirus

It comes as Boris Johnson's spokesman confirmed the prime minister is still showing symptoms of coronavirus.

The UK leader's seven days of isolation end on Friday, however it is unclear whether he will be leaving Downing Street as "he does still have symptoms."

When asked if Mr Johnson would be leaving self-isolation on Friday, the spokesman said: "We're following the guidelines from Public Health England and from the chief medical officer which state that you need to self-isolate for a period of seven days, so no change in that."

No 10 also said it was working with nine potential suppliers over a new Covid-19 antibody test which would allow people to get back to work quickly and could offer the quickest way out of lockdown.

The prime minister's spokesman said: "We are working as quickly as we can on that and as soon as a test is approved then we will announce it publicly."

He added the government had previously been offered tests that had not met the required levels of accuracy "and therefore would not have been safe to use.