UK coronavirus death toll approaches government’s 20,000 benchmark of ‘doing well’ after 768 more die

BRITAIN is fast approaching 20,000 coronavirus deaths - the total the government previously gave as a benchmark for "doing well". 

Today, the UK's Covid-19 toll rose to 19,506 after 768 more deaths were added to the official figures.

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Back in March, the head of NHS England said Britain will have done "very well" to keep coronavirus deaths below 20,000.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England medical director, said: "If we can keep deaths below 20,000 we will have done very well in this epidemic.

"If we do reduce the levels to below the level which we thought, that won't be because we are somehow lucky, it won't be because the virus is somehow acting differently in this country.

"It will be because the British public complied with the advice given."

At the time, 1,019 people had died from the killer bug, with 17,089 infected.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries said in March that cases would rise for “two to three weeks” then fall if Brits respect the lockdown.

She said: “If people have cut down their social interactions, we would start to see a change in the graph."

“The peak will be pushed forward but the height will be lower and we can manage NHS hospital care safely.”

Today, it was confirmed that 143,464 have tested positive for the killer bug in Britain - up 5,386 from yesterday.

The current death toll sits at 19,506 and has been rising in its hundreds daily.

The department of health said another 684 people had died.

The overall total is 768 higher than yesterday's 18,738 because Wales added another 84 deaths it left out of its figures through the last two months.

DAILY RISE

Today's rise in deaths is higher than yesterday's, when 638 more fatalities were announced.

However it is the lowest death rate recorded on a Friday for the third week in a row.

The number of deaths recorded between Monday and Friday this week is also down 13 per cent on figures recorded over the same period the week before.

In England, 17,373 people have died after 587 more deaths were announced today - including 34 healthy people.

The rise is higher than it was yesterday, but is the lowest death rate recorded in England on a Friday so far this month.

In Scotland, 1,184 patients have now died from the killer bug - up by 64 since yesterday.

Nicola Sturgeon also announced today that 9,697 Scots have also tested positive for the virus.

In Wales, a total of 751 have died after 110 more Covid-19 deaths were announced today.

Public Health Wales explained the large increase includes the 84 retrospective deaths from March and April.

It comes as:

• Health secretary says it's still too early too lift lockdown
• New home tests for key workers run out in minutes
• Hairdressers set to stay shut for another six months
• First UK volunteers injected with coronavirus vaccine trial
• Black coronavirus patients are dying at almost twice the rate of white patients
• Companies re-opening were "never required to close"

GONE TOO SOON

Among the latest UK deaths was Fozia Hanif, a young mum who died just days after giving birth.

Fozia, 29, was given a picture of her son Ayaan but never got to hold him after testing positive for Covid-19.

She is joined by children's nurse Katy Davis, 38, who had been unwell with an underlying health condition when she was taken by the killer bug.

Meanwhile, consultant geriatrician Dr Medhat Atalla died after dedicating his medical career to caring for the elderly.

And new research suggests covid-19 deaths have resulted in up to 13 years of life being lost per person.

The University of Glasgow research team found that covid-19 deaths have taken 13 years from men's lives and 11 from women.

As Britain's death toll rises, recent stats suggest it could in fact be 40% higher than reported.

Figures revealed at the start of the week showed 13,121 coronavirus fatalities occurred in England and Wales up to April 10 - compared to the 9,288 announced at the time.

It would suggest as many as 26,000 may have already died.

The difference is down to deaths that happened outside hospital - including at care homes, hospices and private homes - as well as delays in recording fatalities.

Officials admitted this week that care homes were hit with as many as 400 coronavirus deaths a day over the Easter bank holiday weekend alone.

Shocking new data also shows that black coronavirus patients are dying at almost twice the rate of white Brits in NHS hospitals.

TOO SOON TO LIFT LOCKDOWN

This morning, health secretary Matt Hancock warned it is still “too soon” to end the UK lockdown, despite the drop in death rate reported yesterday.

Appearing on Sky News, he said: "The truth is, it's still too soon, safely, to change those measures.

"Although the number of people who died yesterday was lower, it was still over 600, so it's still too high.

"I just urge people to continue sticking to those rules, because it's working and we're flattening that curve but we need to see it coming down."

At the same time, many companies re-opened this week, with the senior minister insisting they they were never required to close.

Dozens were seen waiting in their cars outside a Costa drive-thru in Mansfield, Notts, today.

TESTING TIMES

In a bid to slow the spread, Mr Hancock last night promised 7million key workers and their families coronavirus tests at home.

A daily allowance of 1,000 kits - including swabs and instructions - were made available to Brits without a car from today, but were snapped up within minutes.

It comes as frontline workers continue to fight the virus with a lack of personal protective equipment.

Two NHS doctors, Meenal Viz and Nishant Joshi, are suing the government over the lack of PPE.

Dr Viz said the guidelines across the country are different and keep changing, putting healthcare worker's lives at risk.

At least 121 health and care workers have reportedly died from coronavirus in the UK.

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