FATAL RISE
UK coronavirus death toll rises to 13,729 as 861 more patients die as Bank Holiday is blamed for climb
CORONAVIRUS deaths in the UK have jumped to 13,729 today after 861 more patients died in hospital.
According to the Department of Health 103,093 people have tested positive for the deadly bug - up 4,617 from yesterday.
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The long bank holiday weekend was blamed for the climb in daily coronavirus deaths.
But experts said the slight rise was expected and was probably due to hospitals clearing a backlog from Easter.
Figures from England show hundreds of newly announced deaths were from Friday to Monday, with one dated March 9.
It means the daily death toll may have peaked with the 980 reported on Friday and is now levelling off.
Prof James Naismith, from the University of Oxford, said: “As expected the Easter weekend has introduced additional volatility into the daily numbers.
“The rise in numbers of deaths may well have arisen from reporting delays rather than a resumption of rising daily number of deaths. This particular measure may hopefully have peaked.”
'SLOWED CONSIDERABLY'
Among the latest deaths, 740 were recorded in England alone, NHS England figures show.
These patients were aged between 28 and 103 years old - and 40 of them had no underlying health conditions.
It brings the death toll in England to 12,396, rising above 12,000 for the first time.
The patients with no underlying health conditions who died were aged between 45 and 93.
Meanwhile, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland announced a combined 130 more deaths today.
The current numbers are based on those who have died in hospitals - if deaths outside of hospital were factored in, the UK toll could be as much as 50 per cent higher, new figures suggest.
A government adviser today claimed thousands of lives could have been saved if the UK had been locked down sooner.
Prof Graham Medley, who sits on the scientific advisory group for emergencies, said earlier action may have resulted in “very, very few” cases.
He gave his damning assessment to MPs on the Commons Science and Technology Committee while discussing social distancing.
Prof Medley, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said death rates and hospital admissions had slowed considerably.
But asked if an earlier lockdown might have saved lives, he said: “Had we gone into this state of lockdown in mid-January, then, quite possibly, we would have had very, very few cases.”
FALLEN HEROES
Among the latest deaths is 28-year-old nurse Mary Agyapong, who died of coronavirus five days after her baby was born.
It is understood doctors performed an emergency caesarean on the medic shortly after she was admitted to hospital last week - having lost her dad to suspected Covid-19 just days earlier.
Mary joins over 40 NHS heroes who have sacrificed their lives to treat patients during the crisis.
Yesterday, TV's Dr Hilary Jones paid tribute to a paediatrician today who saved the lives of his two children.
Tributes also poured in for a "super hero" doctor and "wonderful" student nurse who died from the bug.
Today, a further 80 deaths were recorded in Scotland, bringing the country's total death toll to 779.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said 7,102 people have now tested positive for the virus north of the border, up by 354 from 6,748 the day before.
Public Health Wales recorded a further 32 deaths – up from 463 yesterday. It brings the total number of coronavirus deaths in Wales to 495.
In Northern Ireland 18 more people have died, bringing its total death toll to 158.
It comes as War hero Captain Tom Moore completed 100 laps of his garden this morning, raising more than £13 million for the NHS.
The 99-year-old WWII veteran completed the last few laps on his zimmer frame - and insisted he will continue for as long as people keep giving money.
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Pressure is now mounting on the government to report the number of hidden deaths outside hospital in their daily UK tally to get a better idea of the true death toll.
The Office for National Statistics found Covid-19 was responsible for 6,235 deaths in England and Wales by April 3 - including backdated hospital deaths and those who died elsewhere.
This figure is almost 2,000 higher than the official number reported by the Department of Health, which only records hospital deaths, on April 4.
The ONS found 217 care home deaths were linked to coronavirus by April 3 - ten times more than the 20 reported at the end of the previous week.
But some experts have warned as many as 4,000 care home residents may have lost their lives without their deaths being officially recorded yet.
Yesterday, deaths in the UK reached 12,868 after 761 more people lost their lives - including a healthy 20-year-old.
Today, the figures saw a slight jump compared with previous days - however this is likely to be a result of a backlog in figures recorded over the Easter weekend.
Previous weekends have also seen official numbers fall, before they started to climb again the following week.
The number of confirmed cases recorded in the last three days been fairly consistent, but some parts of the UK have been hit harder than others.
In Birmingham, the number of coronavirus-related deaths announced by the University Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust alone have passed 500.
At 505, the trust's death toll is the highest of any NHS trust in England - and is three times higher than that of Northern Ireland.
Two other trusts in London have announced death tolls between 300 and 400.
It comes as Britain could stay in lockdown until June over fears lifting the drastic measures too quickly could lead to a second wave of the pandemic.
Ministers are expected to back a three-week extension to the lockdown today - but some feel pushing it to May or even June would be the right move.
Others believe keeping it shut for too long risks a complete economic meltdown.
Plans are being considered to reopen some primary schools and nurseries next month - with schools outside London and Birmingham set to be the first to open once the lockdown is lifted.
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The full scale of the Covid-19 meltdown emerged in government figures, which predicted the country’s economy may be slashed by a record 35 per cent by June.
Unemployment could rocket to 3.4 million and the deficit may spiral to £218billion this year.
The figures, produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility, predict a slump not seen since the 1700s.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is now said to be pushing to have measures eased by next month to save the economy and stop up to two million people losing their jobs.
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