SICK MAN OF EUROPE
UK is first country in Europe to pass grim milestone of 50,000 coronavirus deaths
THE UK has become the first country in Europe to pass 50,000 coronavirus deaths.
Boris Johnson said "we mourn everybody who's gone" as Britain hit the grim milestone after 595 more deaths were recorded.
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A devastating 50,365 lives have so far been claimed by the deadly bug.
This makes the UK the fifth country in the world to pass 50,000 deaths after the US, Brazil, India and Mexico.
And the country has seen the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe - with around 7,000 less victims than Italy and France.
The official figures released by the Government also showed 1,256,725 people have tested positive for the virus after 22,950 new cases were recorded.
And despite hopes of a coming vaccine the PM warned of more tragic losses, saying: "We're not out of the woods yet.
"Every death is a tragedy, we mourn everybody who's gone and our feelings are with their families and friends.
"It is a global pandemic whose effects, whose treatments, whose implications for the economy, all those have been becoming clearer as the months have gone on."
It comes as:
- Tough new Covid tier system looms with possible Tier 4
- Prof Jonathan Van-Tam tells mum to get vaccine
- Traveller funeral organisers hit with £10,000 fine
- Three Russian medics get Covid despite vaccine
- Brits set to have three Covid jabs by Christmas
Meanwhile there are 14,196 patients in hospital in the UK, with 1,219 on ventilators.
The latest R number is estimated to be at 1.1 to 1.3 with a daily infection growth rate of +2 per cent to +4 per cent.
In England 361 people who tested positive for Covid-19 died in hospital.
The patients were aged between 43 and 102 and all except 20 – aged between 58 and 95 – had underlying health issues.
In Scotland, a further 64 people have died from coronavirus in the past 24 hours – the highest daily total since May.
Public Health Wales reported another 45 deaths this afternoon.
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Yesterday’s death figure rose by 532 – the highest rise for six months.
Yesterday’s rise in deaths is the highest it has been since May 1, when 567 Covid fatalities were recorded.
The figure is considerably bigger than it was last Tuesday, when 317 died with the bug.
It is also more than double the increase recorded a fortnight ago (263) and raised Britain's death toll to 49,770.
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The north-west saw the majority of deaths, with 114 fatalities, while 79 people lost their lives in the north-east and Yorkshire.
Another 62 fatalities were recorded in the Midlands, with 17 in London, 13 in the south-west, 11 in the south-east and four in the east of England.
New stats for England show infection rates in the north remain significantly higher, with just one southern region in the top 50 virus hotspots nationally.
The PM signed off a new lockdown in England on October 31 after he was warned by Government scientists that Covid-related deaths could rise to 4,000 a day in a worst case scenario.
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But the figure has since been revised to 1,000 fatalities per day by the start of December.
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"I think he is concerned that he may have been bounced into it," the source said.
"The figures seem to be suggesting things were getting better before the lockdown began – we are being shut down for a month when we did not need to be."
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock states that NHS staff will be able to get a coronavirus test twice weekly
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