COVID-19 deaths in the UK have risen to 35,704 after 363 more people have died in the last 24 hours
A total of 248,293 people have now contracted the coronavirus throughout the UK; an increase in 2,472 cases from yesterday.
This most recent death toll references those deaths that have occurred in all settings, including care homes, hospices, as well as within the wider community.
The coronavirus death toll in the UK hit 35,341 yesterday after 545 more have died in the country; including a seven-year-old.
The Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, announced that the total number of cases today is lower than the 525 fatalities from yesterday; but Dowden did not explain this discrepancy. At today’s daily press briefing, Mr Dowden went on to say:
“Staying alert for the vast majority of people means staying at home as much as possible,”
Today’s increase in deaths brings the total number of fatalities in England to 24,913, according to NHS England officials, up 166 from yesterday.
A total of 2,184 people have lost their lives in Scotland, after testing positive for coronavirus, an increase of 50 fatalities from yesterday.
In Wales, a further 14 more people have died from the coronavirus overnight, bringing the total figure in the country to 1,238 deaths.
Northern Ireland has had a further 5 deaths bringing the total death toll to 494 fatalities.
A new analysis that was published today suggests that the overall death toll from COVID-19 in the UK is much higher than the official figures reported by the government so far, and has potentially already passed 44,500 deaths.
The rate of deaths that occurred on Monday marked the lowest number of deaths within a 24-hour period since the lockdown began.
NHS England officials have warned that the death toll figures may be artificially low due to a technical difficulty after health bosses have said that the notification system for COVID-19 patients had temporarily stopped working on the 16th of May.
The issue may have potentially had an impact on the figure for deaths that were reported yesterday, with a spokesperson saying that the total is “lower than would be expected”.
This news is amid a row waging over the opening of schools as teachers unions think the government is ‘going too fast’ with plans to reopen schools.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland today announced that he was not expecting students to be back in school by then, with at least 18 local councils vowing to rebel against the Government plans.
